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Photographic 

Sciences 

Corporation 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14580 

(716)  872-4503 


CIHM/ICMH 

Microfiche 

Series. 


CIHM/ICMH 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


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Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notes/Notea  techniques  et  bibllographlques 


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the  usual  method  of  filming,  are  checked  below. 


□ 
D 
D 
D 
0 
D 
D 
D 


D 


D 


Coloured  covers/ 
Couverture  de  couleur 

Covers  damaged/ 
Couverture  endommagie 

Covers  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
Couverture  restaur6e  et/ou  pellicul6e 

Cover  title  missing/ 

Le  titre  de  couverture  manque 

Coloured  maps/ 

Cartes  g6ographiques  en  couleur 

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Encre  de  couleur  (i.e.  autre  que  bleue  ou  noire) 

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Bound  with  other  material/ 
Reli6  avec  d'autres  documents 

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II  se  peut  que  certainas  pages  blanches  ajoutAes 
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pas  it6  filmies. 

Additional  comments:/ 
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L'Instltut  a  microfilm*  le  meilleur  exemplaire 
qu'il  [j\  a  6t6  possible  de  se  procurer.  Les  dif^iis 
de  cet  exemplaire  qui  sont  peut-Atre  uniques  du 
point  de  vue  bibliographlque,  qui  peuvent  modifier 
;me  image  reproduite,  ou  qui  peuvent  exiger  une 
modification  dans  la  m6thode  normale  de  filmage 
sent  indiquAs  ci-dassous. 

I — I   Coloured  pages/ 


Th 
to 


D 


Pages  de  couleur 

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Transparence 

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Comprend  du  materiel  supplimentaire 

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Seule  Edition  disponible 


0 


Pages  wholly  or  partially  obscured  by  errata 
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ensure  the  best  possible  image/ 
Les  pages  totalement  ou  partieilement 
obscurcies  par  un  feuillet  d'errata,  une  pelure, 
etc.,  ont  6X6  film^es  6  nouveau  de  fagon  d 
obtenir  la  meilleure  image  possible. 


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Ce  document  est  film*  au  taux  de  reduction  indiqu*  ci-dessous. 

10X  UX  18X  22X 


12X 


16X 


20X 


26X 


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24X 


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Th«  copy  filmed  hare  hat  baan  raproducad  thanks 
to  tha  ganarosity  of: 

Library  Division 

Provincial  Archives  of  British  Columbia 

Tha  imagat  appearing  hare  are  the  beat  quality 
possible  considering  the  condition  and  legibility 
of  the  original  copy  and  in  keeping  with  the 
filming  contract  specifications. 


L'exemplaire  film*  fut  reproduit  grAce  A  la 
gAnArositA  de: 

Library  Divisi  n 

Provincial  Archives  of  British  Columbia 

Les  images  suivantes  ont  AtA  reproduites  avec  le 
plus  grand  soin,  compta  tenu  de  la  condition  at 
de  la  nettatA  de  Texemplaira  filmA,  et  en 
conformity  avec  les  conditions  du  contrat  de 
filmage. 


Original  copies  in  printed  paper  covers  are  filmed 
beginning  with  the  front  cover  and  ending  on 
the  last  page  with  a  printed  or  i.lustratad  impres- 
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other  original  copies  are  filmed  beginning  on  the 
first  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, and  ending  on  the  last  page  with  a  printed 
or  illustrated  impression. 


Las  exemplairas  originaux  dont  la  couvarture  en 
papier  est  imprimie  sont  filmis  en  r  ommanpant 
par  la  premier  plat  at  an  terminant  soit  par  la 
darnidre  page  qui  comporte  una  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration,  soit  par  la  second 
plat,  salon  le  cas.  Tous  les  autres  exemplairas 
originaux  sont  filmis  an  commenpant  par  la 
premiere  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration  et  en  terminant  par 
la  derniAre  page  qui  comporte  une  telle 
empreinte. 


The  last  recorded  frame  on  each  microfiche 
shall  contain  the  symbol  — ^  (meaning  "CON- 
TINUED"}, or  the  symbol  V  (meaning   "END  "), 
whichever  applies. 


Un  des  symboles  suivants  apparaitra  sur  la 
dernidre  image  de  cheque  microfiche,  selon  le 
cas:  le  symbole  •-^>  signifie  "A  SUIVRE  ",  le 
symbole  V  signifie  "FIN '. 


Maps,  plates,  charts,  etc.,  may  be  filmed  at 
different  reduction  ratios.  Those  too  large  to  be 
entirely  included  in  one  exposure  are  filmed 
beginning  in  the  upper  left  hand  corner,  left  to 
right  end  top  to  bottom,  as  many  frames  as 
required.  The  following  diagrams  illustrate  the 
method: 


Les  cartes,  planches,  tableaux,  etc.,  peuvent  dtre 
filmis  A  des  taux  de  rMuction  diffirents. 
Lorsque  le  document  est  trop  grand  pour  dtre 
reproduit  en  un  seul  clich6,  il  est  film6  A  partir 
de  Tangle  supArieur  gauche,  de  gauche  A  droite, 
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illustrent  la  mAthode. 


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6 

By  F.  S.  DELLENBAUGH 


The  North-Americans  of  Yesterday 

A  Comparative  Study  of  North-American  Indian  Life, 
Customs,  and  Products,  on  the  Theory  of  the  Ethnic 
Unity  of  the  Race.     8  .     Fully  illustrated  .   net,  $4,00 


The  Romance  of  the  Colorado   River 

A    Comjjlete    Account    of    the    Discovery    and    of    the 
Explorations    from    1540    to    the    Present   Time,    with 
Particular    Reference    to  the  Two  Voyatjes  of  Powell 
through  the   Line  of  the  (Ireat  Canyons, 
S°.    Third  Edition  Revised.    Fullyillustrated,  net,$3.5o 

Breaking  the  Wilderness 

The  Story  of  the  Conquest  of  the  Far  West,  from  the 
Wanderings  of  Cabeza  de  Vaca  to  the  First  Descent  of 
the  Colorado  by  Powell,  and  the  Completion  of  the 
Union  Pacific  Railway,  with  Particular  Account  of  the 
Exploits  of  Trap]iers  and  Traders. 
8°.    Fullyillustrated       ....  net,  $3.50 

A  Canyon  Voyage 

The  Narrative  of  the  Second  Powell  Expedition  down 
the  Green-Colorado  River  from  Wyoming,  and  the 
Explorations  on  I, and  in  the  Years  1871  and  1872. 
8°.     Fully  illustrated      .         ,  .         ,         net,  $3.50 


G.  P.   PUTNAM'S  SONS 

NEW  YORK  LONDON 


From  a  photo^jrapli  by  M.iiulflcy 
I  r.'iCAl.l.l    ol-     llIK    SIN,    I' \I  I  Nc.iri',    \li    \|\N 

Discovered  abnut  1750;  .'8  .\  <S  feet  oil  tlie  ^Miiiul,  about  2^  fe^'t  hijli  uitbait  the  "  roof-coiiili,  "  a  feature  of 
the  1' (Kiique  l)uihiiiii;s  hire  partiiaihirly  well  preserved.  Like  all  the  structures  of  the  tiri'iip,  this  crowns 
a  iiiouiul  of  (  oiisiderablc  height.  The  constnictioii  is  stone  ;  oriiaiiientation,  stucco.  Cliariiay  1  alls  atten- 
tion to  the  rcsenibl.iiice  to  a  Japanese  temple.  On  pages  2to,  j  5;,  and  237  constructive  features  are  shown, 
on  i).i.ue  185  is  a  repiodiiction  of  a  t.iblet  from  it,  and  on  page  238,  second  figure,  is  tlie  grouiul  plan.  Page 
40.)  gives  another  of  the  group,  and  page  436  shows  geographical  location. 


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The  North-Americans 
of  Yesterday 

A  Comparative  Study  of  North-American  Indian  Life 

Customs,  and  Products,  on  the  Theory  of 

the  Ethnic  Unity  of  the  Race 


Bv 


Frederick  S.  Dellenbaugli 


"  But  their  name  is  on  your  waters, 

Ye  may  not  wasii  it  out."— A/rs.  Sii^ourney. 


■tfr; 


With 


over    350    Illustrations.      And    an    Appendix    giving  list    of  stocks, 
sub-stocks  and   tribes 


G.  \\  Putnam's  Sons 
New  York  and  London 
TLbc  IRnicherbocher  iprcss 


liLo 


COPVRIGHT,    1900 
II V 

FREDERICK  S.  DKLLENBAUGH 


Fourth  Printing 


ttbe  ttnfcfteibocker  preei,  Hew  Jffork 


To 
MAJOR   POWELL 

WHOSK  COURAdK  SOLVKD  THK  PROBLEM 

OF  THK 

COLORADO  RIVER 

AND  WHOSE  FORESIGHT  ESTABLISHED 

THE    BUREAU    OK    AMERICAN    ETHNOLOGY 

THIS  BOOK 

IS  AFFECTIONATELY  DEDICATED 

IN    MEMORY   OF   DAYS 

AFLOAT  AND  AFIELD 


52-526^^°'  ''''^ " 


)t. 


NOTE 

The  author  suggests  the  reading  i„  conjunction  with  this  volume  of 
the  first  four  chapters  of  his  Brnikinv;  the  Wilderness  .•  Also  the  article  in 
the  'l^l^y't'c  Moutldy  for  March  1906,  by  Charles  M.  Harvey:  The  Red 
IM an  s  Last  Roll  Cull. 


®  m  x-f=  ^  ^ 


MuM   UK  wviNcs  or  s'l  ak.i 


€> 


I 


pri-:fack 

Tniv  basis  of  this  volume  is  ei^ht  lectures  given  before  the 
Lowell  Institute  in   Hoston  in   iS()4.     They  have  been  ex- 
panded ))>•  the  addition  of  further  matter  relatin<;  to  the 
various  subjects,  but  even  with  these  additions  there  is  but  a  brief 
risiiuic  of  the  vast  store  of  material  extant. 

The  "  Indian  "  has  never  seemed  to  me  an  abnormal  factor,  but 
rather  a  natural  part  of  our  society,  for  it  is  now  nearly  thirty  years 
since  I  first  associated  with  him  in  the  Far  West,  and  before  that 
the  Iro(inois  were  familiar  to  me  as  a  small  boy.  When  I  first 
went  among  the  Western  trib(  It  was  with  the  second  Colorado 
River  expedition  of  that  gallant  ^'  plorer  and  foremo.st  student  of 
Amerindian  affairs,  John  We.sle;.  Powell.  His  own  works  and  the 
reports  of  the  United  vState-;  BurcLiu  of  Ivthnology,  of  which  he 
has  .so  long  been  the  head,  and  whore  he  has  gathered  together  so 
many  eminent  ethnologists  and  archaeologists,  have  furnished  me 
with  nuich  material.  These  reports  form  a  fine  library  on  Amer- 
indian matters,  and  reflect  great  honour  on  Professor  Powell  who 
conceived  the  idea,  and  on  Congress  which  has  luigrudgingly 
supported  it.  A  great  and  timely  work  has  become  established, 
which  to  private  enterprise  would  have  been  next  to  impossible. 
Add  to  these  the  invaluable  reports  of  the  vSmitiisonian  Institu- 
tion and  the  memoirs  and  reports  of  the  Peabody  Museum  and 
American  Museum,  and  the  student  has  before  him  a  large  fund 
of  material  without  seeking  farther.  Then  there  are  the  brilliant 
works  of  Parkman,  Brinton,  Winsor,  Bandelier,  Putnam,  Morgan, 
Schoolcraft,  Prescott,  Maudsley,  Goodman,  Wilson,  Keane,  and 
many  others,  with  the  huge  production  of  H.  H.  Bancroft  filling 
an  important  place.  To  all  of  tlie.se  and  to  others  T  owe  nnich, 
and  I  have  intended  in  every  case  to  give  credit  and  references. 
Where  these,  in  some  cases,  may  not  have  been  properly  awarded, 
it  is  due  to  oversight  and  not  to  intention.  My  especial  thanks 
are  due  to  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology  for  copies  of  all  the  reports, 
and  for  permission  to  utilise  the  illustrations  contained  in  them, 


VI 


Preface 


and  to  the  American  Museum,  Archaeological  Institute,  Field  Col- 
umbian Museum,  Peabody  Museum,  and  Smithsonian  Institution 
for  similar  generosity.  I  take  pleasure  also  in  acknowledging 
favours  from  Professor  Putnam,  Professor  Powell,  Professor 
Mason,  Dr.  McGee,  Mr.  Saville,  Professor  Seymour,  Professor 
Langley,  Mr,  Bancroft,  Professor  Holmes,  Dr.  Baum,  and  others, 
and  from  Mr.  E.  H.  Harriman  the  opportunity  of  visiting  Alaska 
under  the  most  favourable  circumstances. 

The  title,  The  North  Americans  of  Yesterday,  seems  to  me  ap- 
propriate, because  while  there  are  still  some  Amerinds  extant,  and 
a  few  are  even  yet  apparently  leading  the  old-time  life,  neverthe- 
less they  are  merely  remnants  of  a  people  whose  sun  has  set,  and 
who  therefore  properly  belong  to  yesterday.  For  this  reason  I 
have  mainly  treated  them  as  a  bygone  race.  Between  the  so-called 
"  Red  Indian  "  of  the  United  States  and  northern  regions  and  the 
so-called  "  Civilised  Tribes"  of  Mexico  and  southern  regions  I 
have  made  no  race  differentiation,  because  the  diiferences,  what- 
ever they  may  be,  are  discovered  to  be  not  of  kind,  but  of  degree. 
Confusion  was  formerly  caused  by  misconceptions  and  by  romantic 
ideas  which  have  been  dispelled  by  the  more  scientific  methods  of 
later  days.  Some  confusion  has  been  caused  also  by  the  persistent 
efforts  to  classify  the  progress  of  mankind  as  a  whole  into  distinct 
world-epochs  or  time  periods.  It  seems  to  me  that  no  such  uni- 
versal epochs  of  even  progress  could  have  existed  in  past  time 
any  more  than  in  present  time.  Tribes  of  men  are  differentiated 
now,  always  will  be,  and,  I  believe,  always  have  been.  Common 
world-planes  of  culture  in  time  periods  are  an  impossibility.  Such 
schedules  as  Morgan's  may  apply  to  tribes  and  stocks  as  indicating 
their  special,  individual  advance,  but  not  to  the  whole  world, 
except  in  a  very  general  way.  That  is,  they  may  be  culture  but 
never  time  classifications.  The  closer  we  approach  the  beginnings 
of  man's  existence,  the  less  marked,  perhaps,  the  differences  in 
tribes,  but  differences  certainly  began  at  the  moment  when  one 
group  of  men  left  another  group  of  men  to  live  apart.  The  en- 
vironment and  necessities  of  each  group  would  cause  differences 
and  varying  rates  of  progress.  One  group  would  gain  the  bow  a 
thousand  j'ears  before  another. 

Long  before  the  beginning  of  the  glacial  period,  therefore, 
some  groups  must  have  been  far  ahead  of  others,  and  in  the  manu- 
facture of  stone  implements  some  tribes  excelled  others  ;   some 


f 


Preface 


VI 1 


making  ruder  ones  than  others,  and  some  perhaps  making  well- 
finished,  polished  tools.  There  are  a  good  many  arrow-  and 
spear-head  shapes,  and  it  is  possible  that  each  form  originated  at 
a  different  time  or  in  a  different  localit}'.  And  in  our  present  state 
of  knowledge  of  these  matters,  no  time  position  can  be  assigned  to 
American  stone  tools,  polished  or  not.     They  may  have 


manv 


ire, 

lU- 

me 


been  used  over  and  over  again  by  various  tribes  for  centuries,  or 
for  a  thousand  years,  or  they  may  have  been  made  by  tribes  of  our 
own  day.  Some  of  these  tribes  made  no  smoothed  or  polished 
implements,  though  otherwise  of  advanced  type,  and  polished  im- 
plements have  been  found  that  may  be  many  thousand  years  old. 
This  is  no  indication  chat  tribes  do  not  change,  but  that  develop- 
ment began  and  continues  unevenly,  and  that  tribes  existed  ten 
thousand  or  more  years  ago  that  were  in  advance  of  some  that  are 
extant  to-day.  Nobody  can  say  whether  the  stone  implements, 
rough  or  smooth,  that  have  been  found  in  Chiriqui  belong  to  com- 
paratively modern  or  to  very  ancient  times.  The  whole  subject 
of  stone  implements  appears  to  be  in  a  chaotic  state,  mummified 
and  petrif.ed  by  a  slavish  respect  and  devotion  to  European  pat- 
terns. It  is  a  case  of  cart  before  the  horse.  It  will  be  apparent 
that  I  do  not  consider  the  finish  of  stone  tools,  in  the  present  state 
of  our  understanding  of  them,  any  guide  for  a  world-classification 
of  peoples  in  a  time-scale,  especially  in  North  America.  This  has 
been  admitted  by  others  back  to  a  certain  point,  but  beyond  that 
point  they  have  continued  to  play  follow-lhe-leader  with  their 
world-classifications  of  "Paleolithic"  and  "  Neolithic,"  two  of 
the  most  confusing,  misleading,  and  usele.ss  terms  ever  invented. 
Below  the  limit  of  the  ice  action  there  is  nothing  to  fix  the  age  of 
stone  tools  when  found  on  the  surface  or  near  it.  "  Paleoliths  " 
and  "  neoliths"  might  therefore  be  picked  up  .side  by  side,  and 
tlie  paleolith  might  not  be  as  old  as  the  neolith,  or  both  might  be 
of  the  same  age.  And  if  a  well-made  tool,  or  one  resembling 
some  of  to-daj',  is  found  in  an  ancient  gravel,  it  does  not  neces- 
sarily mean  an  intrusion,  but  that  men  lived  in  that  far  past  who 
were  more  skilful  than  some  of  their  neighbours,  and  more  skilful 
than  we  have  heretofore  been  willing  to  admit.  That  very  ancient 
men  made  very  rude  tools  is  doubtless  true,  but  that  all  ancient 
men  made  rough  tools  of  the  same  style  down  to  a  certain  fixed 
time,  and  then  all  began  on  an  improved  or  a  smoothed  type,  is 
undoubtedly  wrong. 


VIU 


Preface 


I'll 


How  the  Amerinds  came  here  I  explain  by  a  theory  that  there 
was  before,  or  perhaps  during  the  early  part  of  the  glacial  period, 
a  wider  distribution  of  land  surfaces  on  latitudinal  lines,  which 
invited  latitudinal  migrations.'  These  land  surfaces  may  have 
been  no  more  than  groups  of  larger  or  smaller  islands  which 
have  been  since  wholly  submerged  or  have  left  only  their  highest 
parts  above  the  sea.  Before  the  beginning  of  the  glacial  cold,  a 
mild  climate  extended  to  the  North  Pole,  facilitating  migrations 
also  in  that  region.  Changes  in  the  ocean's  bottom  were  prob- 
ably greater  in  pre-glacial  time  than  riow,  but  they  have  not 
altogether  ceased.  It  is  little  more  than  fifteen  years  since  a 
new  i.sland  appeared  off  the  Aleutian  chain,  and  I  think  it  is 
doubtful  if  any  of  that  group  existed  above  water  six  or  eight 
hundred  years  ago.  I  am  also  of  the  opinion  that  no  human 
life  was  in  Alaska  or  in  Northeast  Siberia  five  hundred  years 
back. 

Races  not  being  all  of  an  even  grade  of  culture  before  the 
beginning  of  the  cold  period  any  more  than  now,  the  tribes  that 
found  themselves  isolated  on  this  continent  by  changes  in  the 
land  levels  and  by  the  southward  extension  of  the  glaciation,  were 
unevenly  developed,  some  being  in  advance  of  others  in  various 
ways,  though  none,  of  course,  had  passed  beyond  the  use  of  stone 
tools,  a  condition  in  which  thej'  practically  continued  down  to  the 
Discovery.  In  this  respect  the  term,  "  Stone  Age,"  as  indicating 
a  condition,  is  applicable,  but  it  would  not  be  possible  to  differ- 
entiate it  into  "Paleolithic"  and  "Neolithic"  periods.  The 
cold  pushed  them  all  southward,  whether  they  came  by  north- 
lands  or  by  latitudinal  lands,  or  both,  towards  the  narrow 
funnel-like  part  of  the  continent,  and  also  to  the  lower  levels,  as 
there  was  no  chance  for  latitudinal  expansion  as  in  the  Eastern 
Hemisphere,  the  most  advanced  tribes  being  the  most  southerly,  if 
not  from  original  position,  because  they  were  able  to  choose. 
Eventually  communication  with  Asia  and  Europe  by  the  north 
was  by  the  glaciation  severed  completely,  as  it  had  previously 
been  latitudinally  by  the  disappearance  of  favourable  land  surfaces, 
and  communication  bj'  the  north  remained  closed  till  within  three 
or  four  hundred  years.  The  most  crowded  tribes  developed  most 
rapidly,  because  such  development  was  imperative  for  self-preser- 
vation, and  their  culture  filtered  through  in  diminishing  ratio, 

'  See  the  last  chapter. 


Prehi 


ice 


IX 


■M 


according  to  distance,  to  the  less  crowded  regions — that  is,  to  the 
climatically  less  favourable  regions  ;  Ijut  all  who  were  closeh' 
crowded  into  the  "  funnel  "  progressed  along  similar  lines  and  in 
much  the  same  degree,  "a'itJiont  rctrard  to  nlationsliips,  so  that  we 
find  in  the  narrow  part  of  the  continent,  where  the  largest  nunil)er 
foui'd  refuge  from  the  cold,  many  different  stocks  in  almost 
parallel  stages  of  culture.  There  were  no  isolated  "  areas  of 
characterisation  "  as  in  the  latitudinally  broader  lands  of  the 
Eastern  Hemisphere,  though  in  some  cases  there  were  slight  bar- 
riers tending  to  produce  or  maintain  slight  variations.  The  long 
longitudinal  chain  of  the  Sierra  Nevada  abounding  in  glaciers  to 
a  late  date,  and  to  a  less  extent  that  of  the  Rocky  Mountains, 
brought  al^out  a  partial  isolation  of  the  stocks  in  the  great  north- 
and-soulh  migrations,  maintaining  previous  differences  and  origi- 
nating others,  so  that  now  we  distinguish  differences  between  what 
is  called  the  Atlantic  and  what  is  called  the  Pacific  group,  while 
they  are  yet  practically  the  same.'  The  tribes  farthest  advanced 
at  the  beginning  of  the  isolation  on  this  continent  would  not  neces- 
sarily continue  at  the  front  of  progress,  for  a  change  of  conditions 
that  might  cripple  such  tril^es  might  at  the  .same  time  be  beneficial 
to  others  previously  inferior.  For  instance,  as  the  heat  gradually 
returned,  the  highly  developed  lowland  tribes  be^an  to  find  them- 
selves at  a  disadvantage,  which  grew  with  the  intensity  of  the 
heat,  while  others,  inured  to  harsher  conditions,  found  warmth 
.stinmlating,  and  they  began  to  develop  germs  received  from 
the  superior  but  now  declining  stocks.  "  The  American  In- 
dians," says  Brinton,  "  cannot  bear  the  heat  of  the  tropics  even 
as  well  as  the  European."  The  heat,  which  at  first  .seems 
to  have  Ijeen  intense  in  the  daytime,  then  cau.sed  a  decline  of 
the  highest  stocks,  and  a  corresponding  progression  of  lower 
stocks  existing  on,  or  migrating  to,  higher  levels.  The  Yucatec 
tubes  declined,  while  the  Xahuatls,  at  higher  altitudes,  began  to 
develop.  The  finest  monuments  of  North  American  anticjuity, 
for  these  rea,sons,  are  generally  found  on  comparatively  low  levels 
and  below  a  certain  latitude,  where  conditions  during  the  greatest 
cold  were  most  favourable  ;  conditions  that  may  have  continued 
fairly  favourable  down  to  within,  .say,  a  thousand  years. 

Long  before  the  dawn  of  the  Columbian  era,  therefore,  the 
Amerind  peoples  had  become,  through  the  inlluences  indicated,  a 
;->i.'c  linguistic  map  p.  33,  and  list  of  tribes  and  stocks  in  Apjjendix. 


Preface 


I' 


world-race  by  themselves,  existing  in  various  stages  of  the  same 
general  culture,  and  with  a  rising  and  a  declining  of  tribes  and 
stocks  directed  by  environment  and  circumstances.  The  great 
stocks  surviving  at  the  beginning  of  the  Columbian  era  may  be 
approximately  traced  by  their  languages,  in  layers,  from  Panama 
northward,  about  as  they  expanded  mainly  eastward  of  the  Sierra 
Nevada  in  response  to  the  gradual  relief  from  the  pressure  of 
the  cold.  The  Yucatec  tribes  had  held  the  region  south  of  tlie 
Tehuantepec  isthmus,  and  owing  to  this  slight  barrier,  and  per- 
haps to  another  barrier  of  a  strait  through  the  land  about  on  the 
line  of  the  proposed  Nicaragua  canal,  had  developed  somewhat 
differently  from  tribes  to  the  north,  and  may  also  have  preserved 
more  of  their  original  character.  Thence  stretching  north  far  into 
the  United  States  was  the  great  composite  Shoshone,  or  Uto- 
Aztecan  family,  in  all  its  variations,  with  what  appears  to  be  an 
"  island  "  of  Athapascai:s  or  Boreal  men  preserved  in  its  midst  by 
glacial  conditions  lingering  in  the  high  regions  near  the  Mexico- 
United  States  line  ;  then  follows  the  Siouan  ;  then  the  widespread 
Algonquian  stock  ;  next  the  Athapascan  ;  and  finally  the  Eski- 
mauan,  which  had  always  been  held  against  the  edge  of  the 
glaciers  by  the  back  pressure  of  the  southern  stocks,  and  being 
most  remote  was  less  affected  by  filtration  from  the  development 
centre,  and  thus  remains  to-day  a  more  differentiated  stock  than 
any  other. '  The  western  arm  of  these  stocks  was  generally  farther 
north  than  the  eastern  because  the  climate  was  and  is  milder  in 
the  west,  the  trend  of  the  ice  front  being  now,  and  apparently 
ahvaj's  having  been,  N.W.  to  S.E.  Distribution  of  skill  in  pot- 
tery follows  about  the  same  lines,  "petering"  out  with  .stocks 
farthest  from  the  Yucatec  centre.  The  Algonquins  crowded  the 
Athapascans  off  to  the  N.W.,  and  together  they  crowded  the 
Eskimo  to  the  limits  of  human  subsistence.  In  California  many 
stocks  found  refuge  in  a  climate  kept  comparatively  mild  by  the 
ocean  currents,  where  the}'  secured  subsistence  on  fish,  and  went 
no  farther  south.  Along  the  Gulf  coast  were  other  tribes  resting 
somewhat  aside  from  the  great  continental  ebb  and  flow,  while  in 
Florida  and  in  the  islands  of  the  Caribbean  region  there  was 
sufficient  separation  to  produce  a  slight  differentiation  from  the 
surging  continental  stocks.       Remnants  of  other  stocks  were 

'  When  the  ice  front  was  along  the  Ohio,  the  Eskimo  naturally  were 
distributed  along  the  southern  fringe. 


^ 


I 


^1 


^5, 


Preface 


XI 


scattered  here  and  there  through  the  regions  below  the  glaciated 
area.  Mingled  with  all  these  developments  there  were  probably 
certain  traits  and  "tinges"  derived  from  earlier  ancestry,  and 
these,  with  the  similarity  of  development  of  all  races  under  like 
conditions  prevailing  wherever  human  beings  can  live,  fully  ac- 
count for  resemblances  to  other- world  tribes  and  peoples  that  have 
caused  so  much  speculation. 

There  has  been  an  error,  I  believe,  in  considering  the  glacial 
period  as  of  the  remote  past.  It  does  not  seem  to  have  yet  closed. 
It  influences  our  climate  now,  and  probably  a  thousand  years  ago 
its  meteorological  effects  were  marked  as  far  south  as  Yucatan. 
The  glaciers  of  the  Northern  Hemisphere  everywhere  appear  to 
be  slowly  disappearing,  and  not  so  slowly  either,  if  the  Muir  can 
be  taken  as  a  gauge,  for  it  has  been  for  twenty  years  receding  at 
the  rate  of  500  feet  per  annum,  and  probably  at  the  same  rate 
before  that.  However  this  may  be,  it  is  probably  less  than  5000 
years  since  the  ice  front  was  at  Lake  Krie.  Eminent  geologists 
have  estimated  it  at  less  than  7000,  based  on  the  erosion  at 
Niagara  ;  but  as  the  erosion  innnediately  following  the  disappear- 
ance of  the  ice  is  extremely  rapid,  it  seems  safe  to  cut  down  the 
estimate.  The  subtleties  of  meteorology  are  far  from  being  under- 
stood also,  and  the  theories  as  to  the  causes  of  the  cold  seem  mere 
guesses.  Consideral:)le  heat  there  must  have  been  during  the 
glacial  period,  or  there  would  have  been  no  glaciers. 

On  the  theory  of  the  ethnic  unity  of  the  Amerind  people,  I 
have  Ijriefly  brought  together  in  chapters  notes  on  their  chief 
habits,  products,  languages,  etc.,  so  that  the  reader  may  be  able 
to  compare.  In  collecting  material  that  is  now  obtainable,  but 
which  will  shortly  be  gone  forever,  much  remains  to  be  done,  and 
to  be  done  quickly.  If  this  book  helps  to  arouse  a  deeper  public 
interest  in  the  gathering  of  this  material,  and  in  the  general  study 
of  the  subject,  I  shall  feel  it  needs  no  apology. 

F.  S.  DK1.LEXUAUG11. 
New  York,  January  3r,  1900. 


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■^   ^  — ^ 


CHAPTER 


Preface   

I — IXTKOnrCTORV  . 

II — Laxcuacks  axi)  Diai^kcts 

Ill— PijTrKK-  Writixo,    Sicx-  LAxorAGK,    Wampum, 
Cui'ri<:D-SToxK,s 

IV— The  Mexicax  axd  Cextkai.-Amekicax  W'kitixg. 

IXSCRII'TIOXS,    AXD    BoOKS 

V— Basketry  axd  Potticry 

VI— Weavixo  and  Costumi.; 

^'11— ^'arvixc;,  Modei.ijxg,  axd  SciEi'TrRE  . 
\'III— Sheeters.  D^vEIJJXGs,  AXD  Architecture  . 
^^~^^'kai'oxs,  Armour.  Imi'eemexts,  axd  Transport- 

ATIOX 

X— MixixG,  Metallurgy,  axd  vSciexce 

XI— Musical  Ixstrumexts,  Music,  Amusements,  and 
Games     . 


PAGK 

iii 
I 


^11— '^VoRKs  AXD  Agriculture 
XIII— Customs  axd  Ceremonies     . 

xiii 


17 

68 

8S 
123 
161 
194 

248 
285 

308 
332 
352 


■I  • 


\1V 

CII.M'TKR 


Cont(;nts 


PAOE 


XIV— Myths,  Traditions,  and  Lkciends        .        .        .    390 

XV~Or(;anisation'  and  Govkknment.        .        .        .410 

XVI— Origin,  Migrations,  and  History       .        .        .428 

Appendix— Containing  a  List  of  North-Amer- 
ican Stocks,  Sub-Stocks,  and  Tribes      .        .    461 


NOTE 

Particular  attention  is  called  to  tho  appendix  by  means  of  which  the 
linguistic  stock  to  which  a  tribe  belongs  may  be  readily  found.  First  refer 
to  the /nV  r;/ /'/7(i^'.9  where  the  abbreviation  following  the  tribnl  luinie,  will 
indicate  tbe  family  or  stock  to  which  that  tribe  belongs  in  the  list  of  slocks 
Example:  "Navajo.^///."  refers  to  '^Ath.  Athapascan,"  in  the  stock 
list,  Athapascan  being  the  linquistic  family  to  which  the  Navajo  belong. 
The  geographical  range  of  the  stock  follows. 


ntn 


MOKI  DRAWINGS  OF  RAIN   CLOUDS  AND   LI(;hTMNG 


li 


410 

428 


LIST    OF    IIXUvSTRATIOXS 


PACE 

TEOCAI.LI  OF  THE  SuN,  PAI.ENQUE,  YuCAXAN     .        .     Frontispiece 
MoKi  Drawings  oe  .Stars    ...  \\\ 

"••••••■  ill 

MoKi  Drawings  ok  the  Sux       ....  iv 

t  Gargoyi^k— vSkrpent  Head       ...  t 

""••••••X 

I  Krotn  debris  of  temple,  Copan  | 

*  Soi-TH  Portion  of  the  Tevva  Puebi.o  of  Taos,  New  Mexico. 

Adoue  Construction ^ 

tSEATi.;i)  I'lGfRic  Carvkd  in  Trachyte     .  c 

[From  cU'bris  of  hieroglyphic  steps,  Copau.     Slightly  larger  than  1;<.; 
size] 

*  Kicking  Bear,  Sioux - 

A  Corner  of  a  Miti.a  Ruin,  Micxico 9 

[From  Bandelier's   Aychceologicat  Tour,  published  by  the  Archteologi- 
cal  Institute  of  America] 
IvSCUtPTURE   FROM   TeRRACE   RaST   OF   THE   GREAT    PeAZA,    CoPAN  .         II 

*A  KiESKABi,  OR  Covered  Passage,  at  Waepi,  Arizona      .        .  13 

*MoKi  Mask  OF  Pawikkatcina i^ 

t  vSpecimen  of  vScuepture  on  Hii; rogeyphic  .Stairway,  Copan  .  16 

'^Eskimo  Jade  Adze ,^ 

[Drawn  by  Mary  Wright  Gilig 

t  "  SiNGiNG-GiRE  "  vScuEPTURED  IN  Trachyte 19 

[From  dgbris  of  Temple  22,  Copan.     Slightly  larger  than  life] 

*Terra-Cotta  Stooe,  Chiriqui 20 

Aetar  Q,  Copan.   Honduras 21 

[From  photograph  by  M.  H.  SaviUe.    American  Museum] 

South-west  Corner  of  the  Tempee  of  Xochicaeco,  State  of 
MoREEos,  Mexico 

[Photographed  by  M.  H.  Saville  for  the  American  Museum  of  Natural 
History] 

*Poeished  Beack  Ware,  Santa  Ceara,  New  Mexico  ...      27 

Eastern  Facade  of  the   Tempee   of  Xochicaeco,   State   of 

:Moreeos,  Mexico -j 

[Photographed  by  M.  H.  Saville  for  the  American  Museum"  of  Natural 
History] 

*  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Ethnology.  |  Peabody  Museum. 

XV 


\  \  I 


List  of  Illustration!' 


Amkrind  Linguistic  Map  ok  North  Amkkica        .        .        .        . 

I  After  the  one  prcpnrfd  by  tlic  I'.  S.  Hiireaii  of  I'Ulinolojo'l 

*  I'AC-SlMII,K  OV  A   CUKROKKI';    MaXI'SCRII'T 

I  Written  in  Sequoyah's  Syllalmry] 

*  IMCTROCLYPHS   NKAR   WrANC.KIJ,,    ALASKA,    PROBAHI.Y   Tl.lNKIT 

*  Human  Forms,  Moki 

*  Omaha  War  Club 

*Paintkd  Petrool,vphs,  v^anta  Barbara  County.  California 

* Pktroci.yphs  in  Hrown's  Cayk,  Wisconsin 

*Paintki)  Pktrogi.yi'Hs,  Southkrn  Utah        .... 
*Pictroglyph  at  Mim.suoro,  Pi;nnsyi<vania 

*PKTROGt,YPHS   IN   (iKORGIA 

RiNic  Inscription  on  .Stonk  I'otiNi)  at  Igamkko,  C.rici:ni,ani>. 

*DiGHTON  Rock,  Massachusetts 

Illustration  of  the  "Walam  Glum"  ok  ihe  I<i:napi'; 

I  From  Brtnton  ] 
KaTcinas   in  the  vSomaikoli   Cericmonv,    Cichumovi,    Arizona, 
November,   i>SS4 

[Photograph  by  the  Author] 

*  Killed  Two  Arikarees 

*  PivTroglvi'HS  on  Paint  Rock,  North  Carolina  . 
Landa's  Maya  Alphabet,  after  Hrasseur     .... 

[From  Bancroft's  Xative  Races] 

^Pac-Simile  of  the  Lord's  Prayer  in  IVIicmac  Hieroglyphs 

I  From  Le  Clercq] 

*, Sequoyah's  Cherokee  Syllabary  .... 

*Lean  Wolf's  Map,  Hidatsa 

*Thi':  "  Penn  "  Wampum  Helt  ;    *vStrings  of  Wampum 
*Orca  or  Killer-Whale  Decoration,  Haida 

*  Haida  T.\ttooing 

*  KsKiMo  Drawing  — "The  Man  in  The  Moon  Comes  Down" 

*  IvSKiMo  Picturf;-Writing 

*. Specimens  of  the  Dakota  Winter  Counts  . 

*  Killing  a  Bison 

*  Shell  Disc,  Tennessee 

*  Shell  Gorget,  TennEvSsee 

[Actual  .size] 

Cup  Markings 

*Cup  from  Chiriqui 

*Terra-Cotta  from  Chiriqui 


33 

35 

.^7 
3>< 
.>9 
40 

41 
42 

43 
44 
45 
45 
4ft 


47 

4S 
49 
5'^ 

51 

52 
54 
55 
56 

57 
5'"> 
59 
6) 
61 
62 
64 

65 

67 
68 


*  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Ethnology. 


List  of  Illustrations 


I'  Mil' 

33 

35 

37 

3>^ 

39 

40 

41 

4-' 

43 

44 

45 

45 
46 

47 

4S 
49 
5" 

51 

52 
54 
55 
56 
57 
5'-> 

59 
6) 
61 
62 
64 


65 
67 
68 


I 


Pack  i-rom  an  Azticc  nooK 

llTom  a  copy  111  the  possession  of  M.  It.  >ifiville| 
MKXICAN   WrITINC.   OV  NAMK   ok    MONTi:ziMA 
fr'roni  Ilrinton] 

*I'.\RT  OF   I'l.ATK  65,    DrKSDKN  CodKX 

IMnynl  •  ■  .  . 

t  \ASK  I.•|«)^r  Kahxa.  Yucatan,  with  I'icci-i.iar  Markings 

*  Con  V 1;  X  I )  i  scoi  d a  i.  vSto  n  1: ,  N(  )  kt  1  i  C  a  k  o  r,  i  x a  . 

t  I'KMAI.K   IlKAD  IN  TraCHYTK 

Usual  Tvimc  ok  Scur.m-RKi)  "Vokks,"  Ckntrai,  Amickica 

[I''iel(l  Coliimbinn  Museiini| 
A     SUGGKSTIOX    OK    THK     I'OSSIBIJ.;     SCIIKMIC    OI."    MaVA     Nu.MICRAI.S. 

Whom.v  Tkntativk         ■        .       .        . 

[K'roiii  drawing  l)y  the  Author] 

*  Omaha  Cai.umkt 

*  Omaha  War  Ci.uh 

*  North-west  Coast  Fkather  Ornamentation  on  Baski;ts 
*KsKiMo  IUg-Baskkt 

*  MoKi  WicKKR  Water-Jug 

*HAVAsri'Ai  Clay-Lined  Roasting  Tray 

*rRO(juois  Birchbark  Vessel;  *North-Wkst  Coast  Basket 

*McCloud  River  Basket,  California 

*MoKi  Food  Basket;  *  Klamath  Basket 

*MoKi  Food  Tray;  *MoKi  Floor  Mat    .        .        .        .        , 

*l-;sKiMo  Whalebone  Dish;  *  Clallam  Basket,  Washington    . 

*  Amerind  Wicker- Work-Apache  Basket  ;  Pai  Utk  Water-Tug  • 

MoKi  Food  Tray;  Klamath  Baski  t  .        .        .        .        . 

*  Modelling  AN  Olla  at  Hano, 

(Photograph  by  the  Author] 

*Clay  Nucleus 

*:\lETHOD  OF  Building  up  Coil  .... 
*Ware  from  Moki  Region,  Arizona 
*Cup  from  Arizona      .... 

*Vase   from    Arkansas,  Showing  Lines  Made  with  a   Sharp 
Point  before  Firing     .... 

*  Bottle-Shaped  Vase,  Arkansas      ...!*' 

*  Earthenware  Burial  Casket,  Tennessee 
*I)eath-Mask  Vase,  Tennessee 

*  Fluted  Vase,  Arkansas 

*Lmpression  of  Parts  of  Basket  Mould  on  Pottery 


*  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Ethnology. 


XVll 

I'AliK 
,  70 

7r 

72 

74 
75 
79 
Si 

S6 

S,S 
,S9 

«9 
Sg 

9" 
9' 
92 

93 
95 
96 

97 

ICX) 

100 

I  Of  J 

102 

103 

I  "3 
105 
106 
107 
109 
109 


t  Peabody  Museum. 


I  . 


XVIll 


List  of  Illustrations 


*Vasi:  I'Rom  Chirkjui.     Dkcoratkd  in  Black,  Ri;d,  and  rrRPrj;. 

An  Anciknt  Kigl're  oi'  Terra  Cotta   i'rom   tiik   Vallkv  ok 
Mexico 

[I'roiii  pliotoffrapli  by  Aiiifrican  Museum  of  Natural  History] 
*CoiL   INOENTKI)   I'OR    DECORATION 

Z\poTi:cAN   Terra-Cotta    I'unicral    I'rxs    I'oi'nd   on    Cement 
Floor  in  1'Rontok  Tomii  i,  Moind  7.  Xoxo,  Oaxaca,  Mexico. 
IPhotoKrnphtd  by  M.  II.  Suvillc  for  the  American  Museum  of  Natural 
History! 

*POT    vSnowiNC.    DlAOONAI,    GROOVES    ACROSS    THIC    IjNES    OE    THE 

Coil  Made  hytiie  Hand  in  Smoothino  up.     Mancos  Canyon, 
Colorado  

Zapotecan  Terra-Cotta  Tuiuno  Found  Leading  down  into  a 
Field  from  the  Centre  of  Mound  7,  Xoxo,  Oaxaca,  Mexico. 

[PhotoRraphcd  by  M.  II.  Saville  for  the  American  Museum  of  Natural 
History  1 

*  Pueblo   Pot.      Pattern   Produced   hy  Ohliterating   pinch 

Marks 

*  Pinch-Marked  Coii 

*Engravi;d  Ware,  Arkansas 

* I'<ngra\ I'D  Ware,  Arkansas 

Black  Cup,  Chiriqui 

*  Woven  Moccasin  from  Kentucky  Cave 

*  Menominee  Beaded  Garters 

*  Navajo  Wom.vn  at  thic  I.oom 

Part  of  the  vSomaikoli  Ci;remonv  at  Cichumovi,  November, 
1S84,  .Showing  a  vSacred  Hlanket  on  Figure  in  Foreground, 

[From  photojiraph  by  the  Author] 

*  Details  of  Navajo  Loom  Con.struction 

*A  PUEBLOAN  OF  vSan  JUAN,   NEW  MEXICO 

*Mi;thod  of  ^Making  Fe.\ther-Work 

*CHILKAT  CI'REMONIAL  vShirt 

*Chilkat  Ceremonial  Blanket        .... 
*MoKi  Wall  Decoration.     Pink  on  a  White  Ground. 
ONGNUvi,  Arizona 

*Bellacoolas    

*Top  View  of  Conical  North-West  Coast  Hat    . 

WONSIVU,    a   Pai   I'TE  (rIRL 

[Posed  by  Thomas  Moran] 

A  Navajo  Leader  in  Native  Co.stume 

[Figure  from  photograph  by  the  V.  S.  Bureau  of  Ethnology] 


P.MrK 
III 


116 
117 


118 
119 

120 
121 
122 

•23 
125 
127 

129 

137 

139 
142 

144 

146 
147 

I4S 


i 


M 


*  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Ethnology. 


114 


Tl8 

119 
120 
121 
122 

'23 
125 
127 

129 

131 
135 
137 

139 
142 

144 

145 
146 

147 
148 


List  of  lllustnitions 

*lNTi:KroR  OI'  A  MOKI  Ilotsi:,  Aki/ona     .        .        , 

*  I'ri;iii.()  Hi'AO  Mat 

*Navai()S 

*Si;m I N( );,!■;  Man's  and  Woman's  Costi'mk 

*  i;ak-I'i;ki'okati.\(v  and  IIair-Drhssinc.  ok  Si;minoli;s 
*TiiK  ("rnos'f -Shirt,  Simi'i.I':  I'orm      .... 

*  ICsKiMo  Hoots 

[Drawn  by  ^;:lly  Wright  C.illl 

*Rain  Hat,  IIaiua 

*TorcAN  OK  vSyi-iKR  and  Davis,  Rkai.i.y  a  Crow   . 
I)i:serti;d  Viij.ack  nkar  Cai'K  Fox,  Alaska  . 

I  rhotogrnphcd  by  the  HarHmnii  AJiskn  ICxpeclition,  1899] 

Interior  Holsi'-Coll'mn 

[Sketch  by  Author  from  post  at  Cape  Fox  Village,  Alaska] 

Major  1'art  ok  Interior  IIoise-Post  krom  Cape  Fox  Vii<i<age, 
S.  i;.  Alaska 

ToTivM  PoMc  WITH  Hear  on  the  Top,  Wrangell  . 

I  Sketch  by  the  Author| 

*Terra-Cotta  vSTATUETTE,  Chiriqui  .... 

'^Thh  Heak-Mother,  Haida,  N.  W.  Coast 

*Wooi^EN  Masks,  N.  W.  Coast 

*Kwakil-ti,  Carving,  N.  \V.  Coast    .... 

*MsKiM.)  Carved  Ivory  Drum-Handles  . 

*Si>E(jimi:n  ok  :Moundbuilder  vSculptural  Skill  with  Hcman 
I'lOlKJv 

*Stoni'   Pipe  from  North  Carolina  Mound  . 
*vSo-Calli:i)  Elephant  Pipi;,  Iowa     .... 

*ToL-CAN    OK    SoriER    AND    DaVIS,    POSSIBLY    MEANT    FOR 

Eagle        

*  Tripod  Vase,  Chiri^ui.     Legs  Modelled  to  Imitate 

*  Shell  Gorget,  .Missouri 

*  Bird-Shaped  Earthen  Howl,  Arkansas 

*  Shell  :\Iask,  Virginia 

:Moki  Sculptural  Skill  with  the  Human  Figure 
Till'  Alosaka  (Moki) 

[After  drawing  by  A.  M.  Stephen] 

*  Sculptural  Art  of  Chiriqui 

*  Shell  cIorget,  Tennessee 

The  Aztec  "Calendar"  vStone         .... 

[From  Bandelier's  Aycka-ological  Tour] 

♦  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Ethnology. 


A  Young 
Fish 


Xl.\ 

149 

•  52 
154 

155 

•  57 

•5'^ 

Ifx) 
161 
162 

162 


■63 
164 

165 
165 
166 
167 

168 

170 

'7' 
172 

172 
•73 

175 
176 

177 

17S 

J  79 

179 

iS<) 
1S2 


.-..twi 


n 


f 


XX 


List  of  Illustrations 


I'ACiE 

Aztec  Sculpture,  the  Indio  Triste         ...              .       ,  1.S3 

[From  Bandelier's  Aic/icco/offhal  Tom  | 

Sanctuary  Tablet  Temple  (Teocalm)  ok  the  Sun,  PALExguE.  1S5 

[Field  Columbian  Museum] 

t  "Altar"  in  I'ront  of  Stela  D.  Copan i,S6 

t  Stela  No.  6,  Copan  ;  Back  of  Stela  No.  6          .        .        .        .  1S7 

*  Puma-Shaped  vStool  of  Grey  Andesite,  Chiriqui  .  .  .  18S 
t  Head  Sculptured  in  .Stone.  Chui. tunes  of  IvAbna,  Yucatan  189 
Large  Built-up  Head  at  Izamal 191 

[From  Stephens] 

*  Stool  of  Grey  Basalt,  Chiriqui 192 

*  Copper  Bi;ll  from  Tennessee        .......  193 

*  Pueblo  Mealing  Stones    .........  194 

Pai  T'te  Wikiups,  NorthE'  n  Arizona 195 

[From  photograph  by  Colorado  River  Expedition,  187a] 

*MoKi  Kisi  Construction .  196 

*  Primitive  Amerind  Ladders 197 

*A  Navajo  House 19S 

*A  Sweat  House 199 

*An  Omaha  Tipi 201 

♦A  Seminole  I)\veli"'ng 203 

*  Mississippi   \alley   Method   of   Using  Jacal   Construction, 

according  to  Thomas 206 

*  Cliff  Outlook,  Canyon  del  Muerto,  Arizona  .  .  .  .207 
Hall  of  Columns,  Mitla 209 

[Field  Columbian  JIuseumJ 

Transverse  Section  (somewhat  Generalised)  Showing  Con- 
struction OF  Palenque  Buildings,  Yucatan  .        .        .       .210 

(Field  Coliimbian  Museum] 

*  Some  Details  of  Pueblo  House  Architecture— A  Triangular 

SiPAPU   OR   vSacred    Kiva    Orifice  ;    MoKi    Doorway   with 
Transom  ;   Pueblo   Roof  Construction  ;   Some  Moki  Roof 

Drains 211 

*Moki    Notched   Doorway,    so    Made    that    Large    Bundles 

COULD  be  Taken  in 213 

A  ZuNi  Chimney,  Moki  the  Same 215 

One  Form  uf  Moki  Chimney  Hood 215 

*  Ground  Plan  of  Eskimo  Snow  Iglu      .        .        .        .        .        .217 

*  Section  of  Snow  Iglu .       .218 

*An  Alaska  Eskimo  Winter  House,  Point  B.\rrow    .        .        .219 

*  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Ethnology.  +  Peabody  Museum. 


T 


.   183 

1S5 

186 

IS7 

1 88 

1 89 
191 

192 

193 
194 

'95 

196 
197 
19S 
199 
201 
203 


List  of  Illustrations 

*  Interior  Ground  Plan  ok  a  Moki  Housk 

*An    Ai,aska    Eskimo   Winter    Horsic   ok    Wood  and   Ivakth, 
Point  Barrow 

*  Interior  ok  Wood  and  Karth  Ic.i.r 

*  Stone  Steps  at  Oraiiu 

*CurE-I)\vi:i,ijNC,    Eastern    Cove    ok    Mummy    Cavi:,    C\n\()N 

DE  Chhi.i.y,  Arizona 

Houses  in  Waepi,  Onic  ok  the  :Moki  Towns,  Arizona 

I  Photograph  hy  U.S.  Geological  Survey] 

*CiENERAi.  View  ok  a  Group  ok  Cavatic  Lodges,  Arizona 
*Plan  and  Sections  ok  a  Cavatic  I.odgic        .... 
•^Diagram  Showing  Pocket  at  Back  ok  some  CwaT!'   Lodges  . 
t  Theoretic  Rook  Construction  ok  Miti.a      .... 
■  CtRound  Plan  ok  a  Kiva  and  Ckii.ing  Pi.an  ok  Anotmi;r 
Chaco  Ruins  M.\sonry  ;   Chaco  Riins,  Ground  Pi.ans 

[From  Rcpoit  of  Haytlcn  ExpeditioiiJ 

*RuiN  Cai.li:d  Casa  GtRandic,  Arizona 

t  Transvicrse  Section  of  an  Ordinary  Vucaticc  Building 

t  Forms  of  the  May-a  Corbee  Vauet 

t  Ground  Plans  of  Yucatec  Buildinc.s 

X  KwAKiuTL  House  Front 239 

X  North-West  Coast  Houses  and  Totem  Poles      .        .        .        .241 

tRuiN  of  East  Facade  and  Iglksia,   "Palace,"  Chichen-Itza, 
Yucatan    


XXI 

I'ACIE 
220 

221 
221 
222 

223 
224 

225 
227 
228 
230 

23' 
232 

233 
235 
237 

238 


243 
244 
245 
247 


X  e;levation  of  Kwakiutl  House 

*ViEw  IN  the  :Moki  Town  ok  Mishongnavi,  Arizona 

*  Eskimo  Horn  Dipper         .        .  

[Drawn  by  Marj-  Wright  GillJ 

*HoRN  Arrow  vStraightener 248 

*:Modern  Iron  Arrow-Hhads  ok  the  Gmahas       ....  24S 

*  Forms  of  the  Bow 249 

Pai  Ute  Palm-Drill 250 

[Drawn  by  tlie  Author] 

tTHE  Palm-Drill  (Fire-Making)  ;  The  Pump-Drill  (Fire-Making)  251 
*EsKnio  vString-Drill  (1m)r  Firi;-:vIaking  with  Mouthpiece)  .  251 
*PuHBLO  Pump-Drill  (For  Boring) 

*  Drill-Point  of  Chipped  Flint 

X  Set  of  Fire-Making  Tools,  Bristol  Bay  Eskimo,  Alaska 

*  Eskimo  Bow-Drill 

t  Modern  Rod  Armour  of  the  Klamaths,  Oregon 


251 
251 
253 
254 
255 


*  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Ethnology.    +  Field  Columbian  Museum.    %  U.  S.  National  Museum. 


T 


W 


I  - 


XXIl 


List  of  Illustrations 


'     i 


tlluPA  Ron  Armour,  California 

t  UsKiMo  Plate  Armour,  Diomkde  Island,  Bering  vStrait 

t  Tlinkit  vSkin  Armour,  Alaska 

t  Pri'Historic  Aleutian  Rod  Armour 

*Chi:'I'Ed  Flint  ;  Chipped  Flint  Blunt  Arrow-Head,  Georgia  ; 
Chipped  Flint  Implement,  Tenne.ssee;  Specimen  "Cores," 
or  Blocks  oe  Flint  ;    vSpecimen  oe  Chipped  Flint  Discs, 

CALLED  "TuRTLKBACK,"  MISSISSIPPI  VALLEY  ;   GROOVED  vSTONE 

Axe,  Tennessee  (Ground) 

[Drawn  by  Marj-  WiightGill] 

*  Diagram  Ivxplaining  Terms  to  he  Used  in  Describing  vStone 

Wl'APONS 

t  Tlinkit  >Slat-and-Rod  Armour,  Alaska,  Front  View 

*  Apache  WaR' Bonnet 

[Drawn  by  Mary  Wright  Gill] 

*  Eskimo  Throwing-Boards  for  Darts 

*  Eskimo  Bird  Bolas 

*  Amerindian  Knives 

*Moki  Throwing-Stick,  or  Putchkohu  ;  Pueblo  Planting 
Stick  ;    ^uni  Wooden  vSpade 

A  MoKi  Throwing  The  Putchkohu 

[From  a  drawing  by  the  Author] 

*  Shell  Spoon,  Mississippi  Valley 

*  Pueblo  Mountain  Sheep-PIorn  Spoon 

*  Menominee  Woodi-:n  Mortar  and  Pestle 

*  Stone  House-La  jip.  Point  Barrow,  Alaska         .        .       .        . 

*  Eskimo  Sledges 

*  ."Central  FIskimo  Dog  Harness       .  

t  Enclosed  Canadian  Toboggan  or  Travelling  Sled 

*  Eskimo  Snow-Shoe,  Point  Barrow,  Alaska         .        .        .        . 
t  Canoes  of  the  North-West  Coast 

*  Umiak  of  the  Central  Eskijio 

*  Eskimo  Kayaks 

*  Method  of  Attaching  Oars  to  Umiak 

*  Method  oe  Tying  Frame  of  Kayak 

*Thin  Plate  of  Copper  Wrought  by  Repoussh;  Method,  Illi- 
nois ]MoiNn 

*  Amerindian  Method  oe  Mininc^  Steatite  for  ITtensils  . 

*  Chipped  Spadic 

[Drawn  by  Mary  Wright  Gill] 


PAGK 

255 
257 
258 

259 


261 

263 

265 
266 

268 
26S 
269 

270 

271 

273 
274 
274 

275 
277 

278 

279 
280 
281 

282 

2S3 
2S4 

284 

285 
2S7 
289 


*  U.  S.  Bureau  of  EUhnologj'. 


t  U.  S.  National  Museum. 


List  of  Illustrations 


XXI 11 


'^^  Eskimo  Stoni-;  INlArr, 

[Drawn  by  Mary  Wright  Gill] 

>^Sj!ai,i.  Figure  of  Frog  ix  Bask  :metai,.  Plated  with  Gold, 
ClIIKIQUI 

Coppers  from  the  North-Whst  Coast  ;  Painted  Desigx  ix 
Black  Representing  a  vSi:a  Monster  with  Bear's  Head; 
Painted  Dksign  Representing  a  Hawk 

[V.  S.  National  Museum] 

■Hollow  .Silver  Bkads  of  Navajo  Make,  Ariz(jxa 

■Navajo  .Silver  Work,  Arizona  ;  p;xgravhd  Button  ;  Bracelet, 

t  KwAKiuTL  Chief  Holding  his  Copper,  North-West  Coast 

*  Triple  Bell  or  P.attle  of  Gold  from  near  Panama 

*  Bronze  Mexican  Bell 

^Bronziv  Bells,  Plated  or  Washed  with  Gold,  Chiriqui 

■S^L^LL  :Metal  FlGURlC,   ChIRxQUI 

*SiLVKR  Plate  with  Spanish  Coat  of  Arms. 

■•■  :\IoKi  Rattle  of  Animal  Hoofs 

•■Amerindian  Rattles;  Gourd,  Ojirwa;  I^arthi^nware  Rattli 
FROM  Chiriqui  ;  Tin,  OjiinvA 

*  Omaha  Large  Flute . 

■  Drum  of  Ti:rra-Cotta,  Chiriqui 
•*:\lENOMiNEE  Tambourine  Drum 

*  Omaha  Box  Drum 
•I- Set  of  Playing  Sticks 

*  Pueblo   Rattles— Turtle   Shell   with   Hoofs  of  Goats  or 

Shefp,   Fastened  to  the   Ri;ar  of  the  Right  I, eg  near 
THE  Knee  ix  Daxcixg  ;   Painted  Gourd  with  Wood  Handle, 

■  ZuNi  Dance  Ornament;    "IMoki  Notched  .Stick;    fKwAKiuTL 

Double  Whistle,  with  i'our  Voices 
I  Thi-;  Awl  Game 

f  Ami;rixd  Gambling  Tools— Skt  of  Bone  Dicic,  Arap 
OF    Counting    .Sticks,    Blackfi'.i;t  ;    Si;t    of    Plum 

a  rika  ree 

*Terra-Cotta  Rattliv  from  Chirioii 
■••■Cat-Shaped  Whlstle  of  Terra-Cotta,  Chiriqui 

f:MANDAX   Game  Ol'"   TCHUNGKICE 

■Double  Whlstle  ix  Terra-Cotta  from  Chiriqui 

fSKT  OF  Staves  for  Gamk 

*"  Baxxer-vStoxe,"  Tennessee 

*So-Called  Elephant  Mound,  Wisconsix 


\ho  ;  Si;t 
SToxi-;s, 


PACK 


292 


?93 

294 

295 
297 
302 
302 

304 
306 

307 
308 

309 
310 

312 

313 
314 
315 


317 

3 '9 
320 


322 

325 

327 
32S 

330 

-t  ■>  T 

.1j2 

.•)vi4 


*  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Ethnology. 


t  U.  S.   Xatioiial  Miisfiini. 


TW 


XXIV 


List  of  Illustrations 


f 


*  Ancient  Fabric  Dksic.n,  i-rom  Impri;ssionon  Pottery,  Utah, 

*  Ancient  Tahric,  Pkksicrved  by  Copper  Celt,  Iowa 

*  Largi':  Mound  ok  thi-:  Kto\vah  Group,  Georgia     .... 

A  VoTivi-;   Adz  ok  Jaditi:   ihom    Mexico,  Showinc,    I'kont   and 

SiDIv 

I  American  Museum,  Kunz  Collection  1 

Back  oi'  VoTivic  Adz 

[American  Museum  1 

*  Patterns   ok   Ancient   Fabrics   erom  Pottery;    erom    New 

York  ;  erom  Illinois  ;  erom  Tenni:ssi:e 

*KsKiMO  Mecahnical  Toy 

t Mahtot6hpa  (The  Foir  ]?ears),  a  Mandan  Chiek 

An  Onyx  Jar  erom  Mexico  in  Process  oe  Manikactirk  . 

[American  Museum] 
)•  Wooden  1'ood  Bowl,  Haida 

*  Dancing  ;\Iask  oe  the  Makahs,  Washington      .... 

fMoKi   Wicker  Cradle  with   Awning;    Carryinc;   Basket   ok 

the  Arikarees 

•|  Tlinkit  Man  and  Woman  Thirty  Years  Ago,  or  about  1S70, 
A  Pawnee  in  Battle  Array 

[Photographed  by  J.  K.  Hillers,  U.  S.  Geological  Survey] 

jTnE  KwAKiuTL  WoLE  Dance,  called  Walasaxa,  North-West 

Coast 

fUTE  WoM.\N  Carrying  Child 

f  Keokuk,  a  vSauk  Chiek 

f  Shrine  oe  thi;  War-Gods,  Twin  Mountain,  Pueblo  oe  Zuni, 
New  Mexico 

f  A  Costume  oe  a  Hamatsa  in  the  Kwakiutl  Cannibalistic 
Ceremony,  where  Slaves  and  Corpses  were  Formerly 
Devoured         

f Mexican  Operating  the  Palm  Drill  eor  Fire. 

fZiNi  Woman  Carrying  Water 

t  I'TE  Cradle,  Frame  of  Rods  Covered  with  Buckskin     . 

f  p;sKiMO  Woman  oe  Point  B.^rrow  Carrying  Child;  f  Apache 
Woman  Carrying  Child 

*MoKi  "  Snake  dance"  AT  Walpi    .... 

*  Amerindian  Pictlre-Writing 

*  Beginning  oe  the  Moki  "Sn.\ke  Dance"  at  Walpi. 
f  Horned  Rattlesnake,  Crotalus  Cerastes  . 
f  The  Okeepa  Ceremony  oe  the  Mandans,  I/ASTing  Four  Days, 

*  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Ethnology.  t  U.  S.  National  Museum. 


PAdK 

336 
337 

339 
341 

344 
345 
347 
349 

351 

352 

353 
355 
357 

359 
361 
362 

365 

367 
368 

369 

372 

374 
376 

377 

37S 
380 
382 


List  of  Illustrations 


XXV 


355 
357 


359 
36r 
362 

365 


367 
368 

369 


374 
376 

■1  •-•7 

0/7 
37S 
380 
382 


*THR  SaCRKD  POI,E  OK  THE  C)MAHA 

Cruciform  ST;<NK  Tomb,  Oaxaca 

[American  Nluseum] 

C.RDrNu  Tlan  of  Cruciform  Tomb,  Oaxaca      .... 

*  Amerindian  Art 

MoKi  Earthern  Canteen,  Arizona 

f  :Mod}:rn  Traced  Sandai,  of  Leather  from  Coi.ima,  Mexico 

*  Eskimo  Pipe  with  vStone  Bowi 

Teocalu  (Temple)  of  Tepoztean,  vState  oi-  :mori:i,()s,  IMexico, 

[Monuniental  Records] 

f  KwAKiuTE  Wood-Car  VINO  of  the  vSisue  Xorth-WI'ST  Coast     . 

f  Rushing  Eagee,  1872 

*FiNE  Ceoth  Preserved  by  Copper  Beads     .        .        .        .        . 

*  Ancient   Fabric-Marked   Potsherds,    with    Ceav    Casts    bv 

HOEMES 

f  1';htohki'ahshepeeshah,  the  Black  Moccasin,  Chii;f  of  thi' 

(.F   THE   INIlNATAREES,    OVER    OnE   HUNDRED   YEARS   OED     . 

Lacandon  (Mayan)  Amerind  from  Chocolhao,  Yucatan    . 

I  Photographed  by  M.  H.  Saville] 

One  of  the  Buildings  of  the  Palenque  Group   .        .        .        - 

[Photographed  by  M.  H.  Saville] 

t Costume    Worn    in    the   Kwakiutl   Festivals,    cali.I'D    I.ao- 
laxa,  North-West  Coast 

God-Houses  of  the  Huichols  at  Teakata,  m;ar   .Santa  Cata- 
RiNA,  State  of  Jalisco,  Mexico 

[American  Museum  j 

*  Eskimo  Mask  of  Wood,  Prin'ce  William  vS:)rNi),  Alaska. 
Plenty-Horses,  a  Cheyenne 

iU.  rt.  Geological  Survey] 

I  North- West  Coast  Basketry  Hats 

f  North-West  Coast  Mortuary  and  Commemorative  Columns, 

f  Ancient  Puebloan  Moccasins  of  Fibre,  Arizona       . 

f  Chimmicsyan  Head-dress  Representing  tiiv;  Whitic  Owl 

t  Wooden  "vSeal"  Dish,  Haida 

Tlinkit  .Summer   Camp 

[Photographed  by  the  Harriiuan  Alaska  F^xpeditiou,  iSyg; 

E^SKiMo  Summer  Camp,   Port  Clarence 

1  Photographed  by  the  Harrimaii  Alaska  PIxpedition,  1S99] 

*  Wooden  Snow  Goggles  of  the  Central  Eskimo 
Principal  Known  Ruins  of  Central  America      .        .        .        , 

[American  Museum] 


[■A(;i; 
3''^3 

3^4 

3«5 
387 
388 

389 
390 
39^ 

392 

394 
395 

398 

400 

402 

404 

406 

409 

410 
413 

415 

417 
422 

426 
428 
429 

431 

433 
436 


*  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Ivthnology, 


t  U   S.  National  Museum. 


T^ 


'■>.  i 


n 


1 ,1 


XXVI 


List  of  Illustration:. 


PACK 

*Xkcki,ack  of  Dried  Human  Fixgers   Obtained   on   Battle- 

I'lELP  oi"  Wounded  Knee  by  Captain  Bourke     .        .        .        437 
Principal  Known  Ruins  ok  Mexico 43S 

[American  Museum] 

Probabijj    Aspect   of   Alaska    vSummer   Landscape   some    Six 

HuNDRiCD  Years  Ago 440 

IHarriniaii  Alaska  Expedition,  1899I 

*A  PuEBLOAN  Warrior  of  Namb6,  New   Mexico,    in    Battle 

Array 442 

t  Apache  Woman  Carrying  Water  in  a  Wicker  Bottle  .        .    444 

Group  of  Kskimo,  PokT  Clarence,  Alaska 446 

[Photographed  by  the  Harriman  Expedition,  1899] 

*  Shell  Spider  Gorgets .        .        .    447 

f  Black  Hawk 44S 

Portion  of  the  So-Called  "Palace"  of  Labna,  Yucatan        .    450 

[American  Museum  { 

Musical  Bow  of  the  vSouthern  Tepehuanes  and  the  Aztecs, 

Mexico 451 

[American  Museum  | 

f  General  Type  of  Chimmesyan,  Haida,  and  Tlinkit  Chief's 
Costume,  North-West  Coast 452 

*  Perforated  Discoidal  vStone,  Illinois 453 

Hobobo,    the    Fire   Katcina,    in   the    Somaikoli    Ceremony, 

Cichumovi,  1.SS4 454 

[From  a  drawing  by  the  author) 

Circle  of  Dancers  in  the  Intervals  between  the  Appear- 
ances OF  THE  Various  Katcinas  in  the  Moki  .Somaikoli 
Ceremony,  Cichumovi,  Arizona,  1884 455 

I  Photographed  by  the  author) 

Front  of  the  House  of  Columns,  Mitla,  Oaxaca       .        .        .    457 

[American  Museum] 

A  Costumed  Human  Figure  from  Tampico,  Washington       .        .    459 
Entrance  of  a  Tomb  at  Culapa,  Mexico 460 

*  Stick  Used  in  the  Awl  Game 461 

t  Wooden  Seal-Dish,  Haida,  North-West  Coast     .       .        .       .478 
t  The  Swastika 4^S 


*  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Ethnology. 


tU.  S.  National  Museum. 


PAOK 

437 
•    43« 

)IX 

•  440 

•  442 

•  444 
.  446 


451 


NOTE 

The  cover,  designed  and  drawn  by  the  author,  has  for  its  central  feat- 
ure a  sketch  of  a  stone  animal  head  removed  from  one  of  the  buildin,i(s 
at  Copaii  and  brought  to  the  Peabody  Museum  by  vSaville.  The  sacred 
butterfly  of  the  Mokis  fills  the  four  corners  of  the  space  around  this,  and 
above  and  below  an  arrangement  of  Puebloan  scrollwork  completes  the 
composition.  On  the  back  is  a  figure  representing  the  terra-cotta  statue 
shown  more  exactly  on  page  113,  with  a  further  arrangement  of  scrollwork 
and  some  minor  Moki  symbols. 


TT»" 


...^,J^*^£-^f'^lPm7^^lnf•^^.^  , 


THE  NORTH-AMERICANS  OF 
YESTERDAY 


TP^ 


i  I 


American  Museum  Marshall  H.  Savile 

TERRA-COTTA  FUNERAL  URN  FOUND  IN  FRONT  OF  A  TOMB  AT  CUILAPA,  MEXICO 

Height:  2  feet  3^^  inches.     Shows  traces  of  four  colours:  white,  yellow,  red,  and  blue 


■  if 


1 


I'cabody  Museutn 


(;.\Ki;i  ivi  I  —  ■-I'ki'i  N  I    III-  \ii 
IriiiM  ilOliris  111  IciiiijK-,  C'lip.m 


THE 
NORTH-AMERICANS  OF  YESTERDAY 


CIIAPTI-R  ( 


J 


Marshall  H.  Savile 
.APA,  MEXICO 
bid  blue 


IXTRODrCTOKV 

WIIT'X  those  rapacious  enthusiasts,  the  vSpauiarrls  of  the 
sixteenth  CL-ntury,  had  unfolded  some  of  the  niysterics 
of  tlie  great  half-woild  that  tlie  resohition  and  daring 
of  Lohiinl)US  had  openi.^d  to  them,  they  found  it  everywhere  already 
peo]ilL-d,  though  often  sparsely,  In-  a  race  strange  to  the  other  half, 
^vllh  totall)-  different  ideas  and  customs,  existing  in  various  de- 
grees of  syhan  felicil\-,  or  in  the  budding  promise  of  a  civilisation. 
The\-  also  found  imposing  ruins  that  told  of  the  long  previous 
departure  of  some  of  the  occupants  of  this  land  into  the  vaster 
unknown,  and  indeed  eviilences  of  still  earlier  hosts  that  had 
tra\'elled  the  dim  palliw;i_\-  through  the  outer  darkness.  These 
new  kinds  were  helie\-ed  to  he  some  part  of  Iiulia.  and  because  of 
this  first  error  the  inappropriate  title  of  "  Indians  ""  was  bestowed 
on  the  natives,  and  this  name  continued  to  cling  after  the  mistake 
was  discovered,  i^rowing  more  and  more  confusing  as  intercourse 
increased  with  the  real  Indians,  till  now  in  our  day  it  is  exceed- 
ingly troublesome,  and  we  are  compelled  to  differentiate,  when 
accurac\-  is  desirable,  by  saying  "  luist  Indian,"  "  Red  Indian," 
or  ''  American  Indian,"  etc.  To  add  further  to  this  confusion, 
many  persons  persist  in  considering  the  Algonquin  and  Irocpiois 


rr 


Ij.l 


i 


I 

si 


1! 


li 


9  The    Xorth-Amcricaiis  of   Yesterday 

as  the  type  speciineiis  of  "  Iiuliatis,"  ami  (jxclude  all  who  do  not 
accord  with  this  limited  and  erroneous  standard.  The  natives  of 
the  Western  Hemisphere  appear  all  to  have  been  of  one  race,  for 
there  are  only  minor  differences,  whicli  will  he  shown  in  followinL; 
pai^es,  and  there  is  therefore  a  necessity  for  a  broad  desii,Miatiiin 
for  all  these  people.  When  these  words  were  first  written  I  liid 
determined  to  adopt  the  term  "  Redskin  "  for  nse  in  this  book,  l)Ut 
learninjT^  that  Amerind,  componnded  of  the  first  syllables  of  Amer- 
ican and  Indian,  had  been  sni^gested  by  the  Anthropological 
vSociety  of  Washington,  I  gave  it  the  preference  over  Redskin, 
and  on  fnll  examination  was  convinced  that  it  is  a  satisfactory 
and  useful  substitute  for  "  Indian,"  and,  in  order  to  avoid  the 
latter,  have  used  it  exclusively  in  these  pages,  except  where 
another  writer  is  (pioted. 

This  Amerind  people  were  indeed  more  remarkable  than  has 
been  popularly  appreciated.'  They  possessed,  as  a  rule,  strong 
personalit}',  great  physical  vigour,  quick  intelligence,  and  daunt- 
less courage.  Their  brain  power  was  of  a  high  order  and  the 
cerebral  quality  extremely  fine  ;  capable  through  the  processes  of 
time  of  a  development  second  to  none.  They  had  their  trials, 
their  wars,  their  sicknesses,  and  their  various  tribulations  before 
the  Europeans  fell  down  upon  them  ;  but  had  the  cargo  of  misery, 
disease,  and  death  for  them  which  freighted  the  bold  caravels  of 
Columbus  possessed  tangible  weight  in  proportion  to  its  magni- 
tude, those  ve.ssels  would  have  plunged  to  the  depths  of  the  un- 
known sea.  But  Destinj-  had  traced  another  course  for  events, 
and  thus  the  gay  banners,  glowing  on  one  side  with  Hope  for  one 
race  and  black  on  the  reverse  with  Despair  for  another,  flaunted 
at  length  their  ominous  folds  in  the  sunshine  of  the  Amerind  con- 
tinent. Great  good  fortune  it  was  for  the  Europeans,  especially 
for  the  Spaniards,  but  the  latter  failed  to  read  their  star  aright. 
Upon  the  conquered  tribes,  an  easy  prey  before  the  superior 
weapons  of  the  invadei.;.  t'aey  lavished  a  cruelty  which  eclipsed 
that  of  savages,  and  settled  like  a  blight  over  the  country,  to 
finally  stifle  by  just  retribution  the  haughty  power  of  Spain  her- 
self, and  wrench  forever  from  her  the  last  foot  of  the  domain 
which  the  unfaltering  courage  of  the  Adelantados  had  bequeathed 
to  her.     Tc  attempt  to  gloss  over  the  oppression  of  the  Spanisli 

'  For  many  details  of  the  life  of  the  Atnericau  Indiaus,  or  Ameriuds,  see 
77/<'  Iiidiaiis  of  To-Day,  hv  {ii-ori^e  Kird  Griiuiell.  l'"or  the  orit^in  of  '.he 
word  Amerind  see  the  Am-rican  Anthropologic^  N.  S.,  vol.  i..  No.  3,  \.  5S2, 


o  do  not 

alivfs  of 
race,  lot 
bllowiiiL; 
^ii^naliim 
till  I  li:i(l 
)o()k,  hut 
of  Amcr- 
polos^ical 
Redskin, 
isfactory 
void  the 
")t   where 

than  lias 

e,  stroiii; 

id  daunt- 

and  the 

icesses  of 

:ir  trials, 

lis  before 

t  niiser>', 

ravels  of 

nia^ni- 

the  un- 

■  events, 

i  for  one 

flaunted 

ind  con- 

pecially 

aright. 

superior 

eclipsed 

ntry,   to 

lain  her- 

doiiiain 

ueathed 

vSpanisli 

riuds,  see 
in  of  'hf 

3.  r-  5'^2. 


l! 


.' 


4  The   North-Americans  of  Yesterday 

rule  of  the  Amerind  people  would  be  fruitless.  There  is  no  excuse 
for  it.  Fresh  from  the  methods  of  the  Inquisition,  the  Spaniards 
themselves  perhaps  were  not  wholly  awn.c  of  the  horror  of  their 
acts.  Unfortunately,  they  do  not  stand  alone  as  sinners  in  this 
respect,  and  the  contemplation  of  the  early  intercourse  of  Kuro- 
peans  and  Amerinds  is  not  likely  to  give  a  candid  person  an 
agreeable  .sensation,  as  it  is  frequently  difficult,  if  not  impossible, 
to  decide  which  race  is  the  one  to  whom  rightfully  belongs  the 
description,  "  treacherous,  bloodthirsty,  and  savage."  Certain 
it  is  that  the  Amerinds  from  the  very  begitniing  had  numerous 
vivid  lessons  from  the  whites  in  murder,  treachery,  and  kindred 
crimes.'  They  were  frequently  slain  without  cause  or  mercy  ; 
they  were  enslaved  when  po.ssible  ;  their  records  were  destroyed  ; 
and,  most  terrible  of  all,  they  were  burned  alive  at  the  stake.  But 
this  latter  diversion  had  been  practised  in  Europe,  where  St. 
Ferdinand  with  his  own  hands  heaped  the  fagots  on  the  blazing 
pile.  The  Conquistadores  of  che  sixteeiuli  century  were  versed 
in  as  nuich  cruelty  as  the  Amerinds  had  ever  dreamed  of ;  yet  in 
the  midst  of  it  all  there  were  men  like  Las  Casas  and  Viceroj' 
Mendoza,  who  had  no  sympathy  with  the  barbarities  practised, 
and  wbvose  characters  bring  relief  in  the  broad  and  hideous  black- 
ness. Ship-loads  of  .slaves  were  carried  off  each  year,  and  the 
sy.stem  of  repartimienios  placed  every  Amerind  in  bondage. 

Oppo.sition  was  punished  in  the  most  terrible  ways  possible 
to  devi.se.  In  one  instance  the  oiTenders,  .seventeen  or  eighteen 
caci([ues,  were  strangled  and  mangled  by  dogs  kept  for  the  pur- 
po.se,  the  execution  taking  place  in  the  public  .square,  so  that  the 
struggles  of  the  unfortunates  might  make  a  spectacle.  Again 
the  Spaniards  invited  some  chiefs  to  a  conference,  as  told  l)y 
Brinton,  in  a  large  wooden  building,  which  was  then  burned  up 
with  the  chiefs  in  it.  But  it  is  not  necessary  to  go  back  so  far  for 
examples  of  the  treacheroiT^  brutality  with  which  the  whites  have 
treated  the  Amerinds.  Were  it  so,  the  cruelty  and  injustice 
might  perhaps  be  regarded  as  merely  circumstances  of  the  period, 
but  Beckwourth,  in  his  Narrative,'^  relates  an  incident,  al.so  referred 

'  It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  general  estimate  of  the  Amerind  is 
entirely  drawn  from  while  men's  writings.  The  Amerind  side  has  never  been 
presented. 

■  Xarrative  of  James  P.  Bccktvourth,  p.  254;  Irvini;'s  Ihmiwi'ille, 
p.  225. 


■* 


■^ 


o  excuse 
paniards 
of  their 
s  in  this 
of  Kuro- 
iison   an 
possible, 
,ongs  the 
Certain 
lumerous 
[  kindred 
•  mercy  ; 
;stroyed  ; 
ke.     But 
^here   St, 
e  blazing 
re  versed 
>f ;  yet  in 
[  Viceroy 
practised, 
(US  black- 
and  the 
e. 

i  possible 

eighteen 

the  pur- 

)  that  the 

Again 

;  told  i)y 

urned  up 

so  far  for 

ites  have 

injustice 

le  period, 

o  referred 

Xiiierind  is 
never  been 

iofiiit'Z'ille, 


Introductory  5 

to  by  Washington  Irving,  quite  as  horrible  as  any  that  occurred 
ill  the  sixteenth  century.  Beckwourth  came  upon  some  white 
trapi)ers  who  had  captured  two  Amerinds  from  a  party  of  Ari- 


1 
I 


■1 


Peabody  Mu'.eiim 

SK.'I'KI)    I'KirKK    rARVF.n    IN    TKACUYIK 

From  debris  of  hieroglyphic  steps,  Copaii.     Slightly  Icirger  than  life  site 

karees  who  had  stolen  their  horses.  The  Arikarees  offered  to 
return  some,  but  not  all,  of  the  horses  in  exchangii  for  the  prison- 
ers, but  the  trappers  declared  they  wouUl  burn  thtir  captives  alive 


17^ 


:4     K, 


6  The  North-Americans  of  Yesterday 

if  all  the  horses  were  net  returned.  The  threat  was  disregarded. 
Thereupon  the  logs  on  the  top  of  a  huge  lire  were  separated,  the 
two  helpless,  chain-bound  prisoners  were  dropped  into  the  red 
furnace,  and  the  flaming  logs  replaced.  "There  was  a  terrible 
struggle  for  a  moment,"  says  Beckwourth,  "  then  all  was  still." 
And  thus  was  another  lesson  of  the  mercj'  and  justice  of  the  White 
rendered  unto  the  Red. 

Nearer  to  us  than  this  we  have  an  incident  even  more  diaboli- 
cal, because  without  the  provocation  the  trappers  had.  Horse 
stealing  down  to  recent  times  in  the  West  has  always  been  liable 
to  punishment  bj'  death,  so  the  trappers  might  be  somewhat 
excused  on  that  ground  in  the  minds  of  some,  but  in  the  year 
1S9S,  in  tlie  Indian  Territory,  two  Amerinds  were  burned  alive 
at  the  stake  by  a  mob  of  whites.  The  accusation,  too,  was  a  mere 
suspicion,  and  it  was  later  established  that  the  Amerinds  were 
perfectly  innocent,  After  such  deeds  we  may  well  pause  when 
our  inclination,  is  to  vaunt  the  superiority  of  the  white  men  over 
the  red. 

Xotwilhstanding  the  popular  idea  that  the  Ameii  's  .^re 
devils  incarnate,  many  tribes  wheri  first  encountP''ed  were  kindly-, 
and  trusted  the  newcomers  till  the  moment  came,  as  it  .soon  did, 
when  they  were  basely  deceived.  That  all  tribes  were  trusting  is 
not  claimed,  but  it  is  well  known  that  many  explorers  found  the 
Amerinds  ready  to  receive  them  fairly  and  honestly.  Neither 
Cartier  nor  Roberval  met  with  hostility  from  natives,  and  the  suc- 
cess of  the  straightforwardness  of  Penn  in  his  dealings  with  them 
is  unquestioned.'  It  has  been  stated  that  the  European  is  no  more 
than  a  whitewashed  .savage,  and  his  intercourse  with  the  Amerind 
people  hears  out  this  description.  There  was  often  provocation 
on  ])oth  sides,  at'gmented  by  the  complete  ignorance  of  each 
other's  ways  and  customs.  Actions  which  were  correct  according 
to  the  manners  of  the  Amerinds  were  offen.sive  to  the  whites,  and 
vicr  vrrsa,  and,  to  add  to  the  ever-increasing  hostilit}',  tlie  whites 


'  '' Aiiiiilst  all  the  devastating  incursions  of  the  Indians  in  North  Amer- 
ica it  is  a  remarkable  fact  that  no  Friend  who  stood  faithful  to  his  principles 
in  the  disuse  of  all  weapons  of  war,  the  cause  of  which  was  generally  well 
understood  by  the  Indians,  ever  suffered  personal  molestation  from  them," 
vol.  v.,  p.  63,  Brinton's /,/<^;-rt'/^' ^^:/w.  Ab.  Literature,  fro'  .  Ar  Account 
of  the  Conduct  of  the  Society  of  Friends  toward  the  Jndian'i,  p.  /...  London 
1844. 


rday 


Introductory 


vas  disregarded. 
re  separated,  the 
)ed  into  the  red 
e  was  a  terrible 
n  all  was  still." 
tice  of  the  White 

en  more  diaboli- 
ers  had.  Horse 
ways  been  liable 
it  be  somewhat 
but  in  the  year 
2re  burned  alive 
,  too,  was  a  mere 

Amerinds  were 
veil  pause  when 

white  men  over 

Ameii   .\s  •. ,  ^re 

•"ed  were  kindly, 

e,  as  it  soon  did, 

were  trustiiiir  is 

)lorers  found  the 

nestly.     Neither 

ves,  and  the  suc- 

dings  with  them 

3pean  is  no  more 

ith  the  Amerind 

ten  provocation 

norance  of  each 

orrect  according 

the  whites,  and 

ility,  the  whites 

ns  in  North  Atiier- 
iil  to  bis  principles 
was  generally  well 
Lation  from  them," 
fro'  .  ,7r  Account 
fr>,  p.  /^.    London. 


resented  upon  all  Amerinds  the  crime  or  iiuliscreiiou  of  one  or  a 
few  members  of  a  particular  tribe.     If  an  Amerind  connuilted  a 


\\  '■ 


U.  S.  Hu.  Eth. 


KICKiXr,   UKAR,  STOT'X 


crime,  the  next  one  met  with  suffered  for  it.     When  Walker,  in 
1833,  treacherously  abandoned  the  line  of  work  Bonneville  had 


m 


I 


iW 


■;•  / 


! 


1     1^ 


if 


it. 


j 


8  The  North- Americans  of  Yesterday 

laid  out  for  him  and  struck  down  the  Humboldt  for  California,  one 
of  the  men  had  his  traps  carried  off  by  some  of  the  Shoshokoes.  He 
swore  to  kill  the  first  one  he  should  meet,  and  so  their  trail  was 
one  of  blood.  At  one  place  they  murdered  no  less  than  twenty- 
five  unsuspecting  red  people  without  provocation.  This  was  the 
manner  in  which  these  pioneers  exhibited  their  superiority.  There 
have  always,  too,  been  certain  whites,  more  or  less  outlawed,  like 
one  Rose,  who  have  struck  up  a  friendship  with  the  worst  tribes 
for  the  purpose  of  inciting  them  against  the  whites  to  advance 
their  own  profit. 

Previous  to  the  European  invasion  the  Amerind  was  not  always 
at  war,  though  many  seem  to  think  that  he  was.  His  territorial 
lines  were  generally  well  defined,  and,  as  a  rule,  he  stayed  within 
them.  Their  villages,  for  the  Amerind  was  always  a  village 
dweller,  were  far  apart  north  of  Mexico,  and  as  long  as  there  was 
no  conte  '.  i '»n  over  property  or  water  rights,  things  went  smoothly, 
and  even  -  j  hostilities  intercourse  was  not  always  entirely 

broken  off.  )  that  there  was  frequently  a  large  measure  of 
security  and  periods  of  uninterrupted  peace.  He  worked  at  hunt- 
ing, fishing,  and,  in  all  the  tribes  east  of  the  Mississippi,  in 
Mexico,  and  many  tribes  west,  at  agriculture.  The  arrival  and 
the  westward  movement  of  the  Europeans  crowded  back  the  tribes 
across  boundaries  and  upon  lands  they  had  no  right  to,  and  fre- 
quent wars  were  the  inevitable  result.  Finally  the  acquisition  of 
the  horse  gav^e  facility  of  movement  never  before  possessed,  and 
made  quick  journeys  and  night  attacks  feasible,  while  the  desire 
to  secure  as  many  of  the  valuable  animals  as  possible  added  a 
new  and  great  incentive  to  theft  and  consequent  warfare.  The 
Amerind  began  to  change,  in  fact,  the  moment  he  acquired  the 
horse  and  the  gun,  adapting  both  to  his  needs  and  using  them 
with  consummate  skill.  The  whites  did  not  try  to  understand 
him,  nor  were  they  superior  to  him  in  the  matter  of  patience  or 
forgiveness.  One  thing  was  well  understood  by  the  whites,  how- 
ever, and  continues  to  this  day,  and  that  was  that  an  Amerind  has 
no  rights  that  a  white  man  is  bound  to  respect,  or  even  to  consider. 
The  natives  north  of  the  Aztec  country  were  regarded  as  vaga- 
bonds and  vagrants  who  had  no  right  to  anything,  while  those  of 
Mexico,  whom  the  Spaniards  had  meanwhile  reduced  everywhere 
to  abject  slaves,  were  believed  to  be  a  different  race,  with  former 
qualities  that  were  greatly  exaggerated  by  the  Europeans.     And 


(1 


Introchictorv 


9 


then,  later,  in  the  effort  to  counteract  the  extravaj^^ant  notions 
entertained  of  the  Aztecs,  their  remarkable  growth,  and  that  of 
the  Mayas,  was  by  some  writers  reduced  to  the  level  of  that  of  the 
Pueblo  tribes  of  New  Mexico  and  Arizona,  which  is  undoubtedly 
a  serious  error  in  the  other  direction.  Montezuma  was  probably 
not  a  king  nor  an  emperor  as  those  terms  are  understood  by  us,  but 
it  is  difficult  to  accept  him  as  little  more  than  a  Moki  war-chief, 
especially  as  one  can  readih'  see  that  a  few  steps  farther,  even  in 
the  line  of  Moki  development,  might  have  produced  a  form  of 


A    CUKNK.R    OK    A     Mill. A     KIIN,     Ml'XICO 
From  KimdeWer's  .Irc/ufo/'^'/ciz/  7'oi/r,  piililishcd  by  the  ArchaL-ological  Institute  of  America 

government  partaking  of  the  monarchical,  but  different  from  any- 
thing that  we  know  about.'  Kver  since  I  saw  one  of  our  Arizona 
Pai  Ute  guides,  a  chief  of  his  baud,  command  a  follower  to  take 
off  his  shoes  as  he  reclined  by  the  fire,  I  have  suspected  the  exist- 
ence among  the  Amerinds  of  a  latent  germ  of  ari.stocracy. 

In  the  first  flush  of  the  discovery  of  America,  P^urope  was  wild 
with  the  romance  of  it,  and  mystery  was  the  order  of  the  day. 

'  Payne  says,  "  Analiuac  was  becominj^  a  military  despotism."     History 
of  Ihe  New  World  called  Amen l\i,  vol.  ii.,  p.  494. 


1  r 


I!'' 


K 


k 


i 


I 


4 


lO 


The   North-Americans  of  Yesterday 


More  wonderful  things  still  were  expected.  Fables  that  had  done 
good  service  for  centuries  were  transported  to  the  new  lands,  and 
there  blazed  up  with  the  mysterious  uncertainty  of  the  ignis  fatuus, 
luring  and  deceiving,  till  the  gold-thirsting  luiropeans  struggled 
in  the  pursuit  of  such  phantoms  as  the  "  Seven  Cities."  The 
most  extraordinarj'  tales  appeared  tame  in  that  atmosphere  of 
dazzling  imagination.  Exaggeration  of  one  kind  or  another  has 
ever  since  been  the  inheritance  of  the  Amerind  people,  and  it  is 
only  within  a  comparatively  few  years  that  these  "  Americans  of 
Yesterday  "  have  been  scientifically  studied  and  their  real  charac- 
ter and  attainments  given  proper  places.  The  whole  matter  of 
American  ethnology  and  archaeology  is  new  ;  so  new  that  it  is 
impossible  to  speak  with  decision  on  a  great  monj^  points.  In  the 
United  States  we  have  usually  regarded  the  Amerind  as  the  incar- 
nation of  evil  ;  a  treacherous  demon  with  a  bloody  knife  in  one 
hand  and  a  scalp-lock  in  the  other,  and  we  have  generally'  refused 
to  consider  the  finer  traits  of  his  character.  So  callous  have  we 
become  to  his  good  points  that  Cooper  is  ridiculed  for  his 
delineation  of  Amerinds  that  have  instincts  or  principles  above 
the  brute,  and  j'et  Cooper's  chief  models  were  the  Iroquois  who 
established  a  remarkable  political  organisation. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  be  what  has  been  scornfully  called  "  an 
Indian  lover"  to  be  interested  in  this  extraordinarily  homogene- 
ous race  that  was  scattered  from  Alaska  to  Patagonia.  vSuch 
interest  should  be  a  matter  apart  from  sentiment.  We  are  in- 
terested in  the  primitive  man  of  Europe  ;  few  would  have  been 
pleased  to  live  with  him.  So  the  question  whether  we  "  like" 
the  Amerind  people  and  would  enjoy  social  intercourse  with 
them  is  not  to  the  point.  It  is  a  matter  of  education  ;  a  matter, 
in  fact,  of  the  study  of  ourselves  as  others  saw  us  some  thou- 
sands of  years  ago,  for  the  Amerind  people  were  pas.sing  through 
phases  of  human  existence  which,  in  all  probability,  our  remote 
ancestors  also  passed  through  ;  so  that  by  examining  this  kind  of 
life  we  are  holding  up  the  mirror  to  ourselves.  Till  recently  the 
apathy  .shown  on  this  subject  was  surprising.  People  generally 
were  not  aware  that  there  were  differences  in  "  Indians,"  or  that 
they  spoke  different  languages.  The  idea  that  there  was  any 
profit  in  stud3'ing  them  was  popularly  considered  ridiculous.  He 
was  a  "  good-for-nothing,"  and  that  was  all  that  there  was  about 
it.     But  we  can  no  more  find  fault   with  the  Amerind  for  not 


\\ 


Introductory 


II 


had  done 
aiids,  and 
i/s/aiuus, 
struggled 
s."  The 
sphere  of 
other  has 

and  it  is 
ericans  of 
al  charac- 
niatter  of 
that  it  is 
,.  In  the 
:he  incar- 
fe  in  one 
y  refused 
i  have  we 
1  for  his 
les  above 
uois  who 

lied  "an 
jniogene- 
a.  Such 
e  are  in- 
ave  been 

'  like" 
rse  with 
1  matter, 
ne  thou- 
through 
r  remote 
s  kind  of 
Mitly  the 
generally 

or  that 
^vas  any 
us.  He 
as  about 

for  not 


being  a  Ivuropean  than  we  can  with  a  stage-coach  for  not  being  a 
locomotive.  We  nnist  accept  him  as  he  was,  and  as  he  is,  and 
wherever  po.ssible  .study  him  and  write  him  down  .so  minutely 
that  generations  of  ethnologists  to  come  will  .shower  blessings  on 
our  heads.  We  nuist  constantly  remember  that  the  Amerind 
l)oint  of  view  is  different  from  ours,  and  that  we  too  are  only  in  a 
trrmsitional  .stage. 


fHf"'^" 


i  I 


"1 


■a 


.1 


.■ISi. 


I'eabody  Museum 

.SCri.l-TrKES    I'ROM    TKKKACK    J'.AST   OK   TIIK   C.KKAT    I'l.AZA,    COl'AN 

The  Amerind  people,  like  ourselves,  represetit  merely  a  stage 
of  human  progress.  Our  stage  is  in  advance  of  theirs,  but  it  is 
by  no  means  perfection.  We  do  not  .scalp,  Init  the  revolver  is 
(|uite  as  active  as  their  scalping-knife,  and  we  require  a  great 
numl)er  of  policemen  to  keep  us  civilised.  As  for  war,  the  Euro- 
pean race  has  certainly  not  been  backward  in  that  re.spect.  In 
Europe  to-day  vast  bodies  of  men  are  withdrawn  from  every  other 
service  and  trained  for  war  with  a  completeness  that  ^he  Amerind 
never  dreamed  of  ;  and  in  the  United  States  we  have  probably 


1 ' 

i 


12 


The   North-Americans  of  Yest»;rclay 


.i  H 


i 
^.1 


,1         I 
ft  i 


already  killed  more  men  in  wars  than  ever  at  one  time  peopled  it 
in  aboriginal  days.  F'or  in  those  days  the  various  groups  of 
Amerinds  were  separated  by  tracts  of  unoccupied  territory  ;  un- 
occupied except  as  the  hunters  roamed  over  it  in  search  of  their 
food,  and  the  population  outside  of  the  Aztec  country  and  Central 
America  was  generally  sparse.  Nor  was  the  distribution  of  this 
population  always  the  same  as  it  was  revealed  to  us  by  the  Dis- 
covery. Tribes  developed,  rose  to  power,  declined  and  passed 
away,  leaving  little,  where  their  art  development  was  .slight,  to 
indicate  their  former  presence,  no  matter  what  may  have  been  the 
degrees  of  their  political  attainments.  Had  not  our  own  history 
come  in  to  rescue  the  confederacy  of  the  Iroquois,  their  remains, 
assuming  them  to  have  declined  without  further  art  develop- 
ment, would  have  convej'ed  no  suspicion  of  their  political  or- 
ganisation. 

Back  and  forth  the  Amerind  race  moved,  up  and  down,  across 
the  face  of  the  American  continent  through  the  forgotten  ages  in 
ever  shifting  waves  impelled,  in  the  main,  by  climatic  conditions 
and  food  quest,  some  leaving  behind  no  record,  others  bequeathing 
to  the  future  monuments  and  edifices  that  astonished  the  world 
and  gave  birth  to  elaborate  and  far-fetched  theories  to  account  for 
a  development  that  seems  to  have  required  no  more  than  time  and 
the  circumstances  which  existed.  All  the  remains  on  this  con- 
tinent appear  to  be  palpably  American  ;  the  work  of  the  Amerinds 
in  their  various  degrees  of  progress.  Whether  they  came  from  one 
source  or  several,  they  have  been  long  enough  here  to  become 
liomogeneous  from  one  end  of  the  hemisphere  to  the  other,  and 
this,  it  is  evident,  would  require  a  great  stretch  of  time.'  They 
clearly  separated  from  the  other  inhabitants  of  the  world,  in  any 
case,  at  a  perioci  before  those  inhabitants  had  developed  present 
characteristics  From  the  time  the  human  race  was  born,  whether 
as  an  ape  or  as  it  now  stands,  there  was  differentiation  of  habits, 
customs,  and  knowledge  which  has  never  ceased  and  which  never 
will  cease.  But  as  light,  air,  and  natural  conditions  are  similar 
or  the  same  the  world  round,  and  as  cerebral  matter  seems  to  be 
practically  the  same  in  all  peoples,  humanity  has  passed  everj-- 
where  through  about  the  same  stages  of  development,  and  each 
stock  or  tribe  in  time  has  arrived  at  about  the  same  place  on  the 
road  of  progress  because  they  could  not  help  it.  Conditions  might 
'  See  Preface  and  the  last  chapter. 


?> 


If 


m 


IM 


I    I 


\ 


14 


riic   Nortli- Americans  of  Yesterday 


force  one  people  ahead  while  other  conditions  might  be  retarding 
another,  but  whatever  progression  there  has  ever  been  was  made 
on  practically  the  same  lines.  The  same  race,  however,  does  not 
throughout  always  develop  evenly.  vSirJohn  Lubbock  has  said 
that  "  different  races  in  similar  stages  of  development  often  present 
more  features  of  resemblance  to  one  another  than  the  same  race 
does  to  itself  in  different  stages  of  its  history,"  and  to-day  in 
Arizona  there  exist  near  to  each  other  two  branches  of  the  wide- 
spread Shoshonean  '  stock,  the  Pai  Utes  and  the  Mokis,  who 
exhibit  the  most  marked  differences  of  customs,  the  latter  living 
in  .substantial  houses  of  stone  while  the  former  occupy  the  rudest 
kind  of  brush  wikiups. 

The  Amerind  people  were  living  in  various  stages  of  progress 
at  the  time  of  the  Discover)'.  The  Mexicans,  according  to  Lewis 
Morgan,  were  "  one  stage  higher  than  the  Mohawks  ar.d  one 
stage  lower  than  the  warriors  of  the  Iliads  Accepting  this  as 
correct,  we  would  be  able  to  trace  human  development  back  of  the 
Greeks  through  the  Amerinds  of  North  America.  Morgan  sug- 
gested the  classification  of  mankind  in  three  broad  ethnic  stages  : 
Savagery,  Barbarism,  and  Civilisation,"  the  first  ending  with  the 
acquisition  of  the  bow  and  arrow,  represented  here  by  the  Pai  Utes; 
the  second  ending  with  the  smelting  of  iron  ore,  represented  by 
the  early  Greeks  ;  and  the  third  beginning  with  a  phonetic  alpha- 
bet, and  represented  by  ourselves.  In  this  scheme  the  Mexicans 
would  fall  in  the  middle  period  of  Barbarism.  This  is  a  fairly 
good  working  basis,  but,  like  all  generalisations,  it  is  only  general. 
It  must  not  be  rigidly  adhered  to.  The  conditions  on  this  con- 
tinent were  quite  different  from  those  in  Europe,  and  consequently 
the  line  of  development  could  not  be  precisely  the  same.  There 
seems  to  be  no  good  argument  yet  advanced  and  no  archaeological 
data  yet  exhibited  that  compel  us  to  seek  an  outside  derivation 
for  the  Amerind  race  ;  and  this  being  so,  it  is  about  as  reasonable 
to  search  this  continent  for  the  original  home  of  the  yellow  race 
as  to  go  to  Asia  for  that  of  the  red.  That  they  may  have  come 
from  there  is  possible,  and  so  also  it  is  possible  that  they  came 
from  Kurope.     Nor  siiould  we  at  present  exclude  even  the  lost 

'  Brintou's  "  Uto-Aztecan."  The  connection  between  the  Nabuatl,  or 
Aztec,  and  Shoshonean  is  not  well  established. 

*  Lewis  H.  Morgan,  Houses  and  House  Life,  Dr.  W.  J.  McGee  has 
added  a  fourth  stage,  "  Enlightenment." 


i  ': 


Introductor)' 


•5 


Athintis, '  for  the  gL-o^^raphy  of  the  worUl  was  not  always  as  it  is 
now,  and  the  elevation  and  subsidence  of  lands  are  still  in  progress. 
This,  of  course,  is  admitted,  as  also  that  there  was  a  liuul  connec- 
lion  across  the  Atlantic  before  man  appeared  in  the  world  ;  but 


U.  S.  Ru.  Kth. 


M(.)KI    MASK    dl'    I'AWIKKATCINA 


man  may  have  appeared  earlier  than  we  suspect,   and  this  lost 
laiul  may  have  been  in  sunshine  later  than  we  beHeve.'' 

The  Amerinds  of  North  America  were  pi.  .  'jally  a  people  of 
stone  culture,  because  while  some  had  developed  an  ability  to 

'  Kor  a  full  statement  of  this  story,  see  the  fasciuatiug  book,  ^Ulaiitis : 
Till-  .Inicdiluvian  Worlds  by  Ignatius  Douuelly. 
■'  See  Chap.  XVI.  and  also  the  Preface. 


^ 


1 


': 


'    -I 


I 


;    I' 


W 


i . 


i6 


The  N()rtli-Am(;ricans  of  N'ostcrclay 


employ  coppiT  to  a  liiiiitud  extent,  they  used  stone  tools  for 
most  of  their  work  ;  their  highest  government  appears  to  have 
been  the  confedeiacy,  witli  in  some  cases  perhaps  a  monarchical 
tendency  ;  they  were  without  domestic  animals  ;  without  heasts 
of  burden  ;  without  fireplaces  or  chinnieys  ;  without  inside  stairs  ; 
and  without  wheeled  \ehicles.  There  was  no  mystery  about 
theiu.  They  ranj;ed  the  continent,  as  has  been  noted,  impelled 
by  food  quest  and  climate.  They  lived  bravely  and  they  died 
without  fear.  The  foUowint;  chapters  will  tell  .some  of  the  things 
they  did,  with  the  hope  that  readers  may  arrive  at  a  better  under- 
standing of  the  people  that  .so  long  had  a  half-world  to  themselves. 


Peabody  Museum 

Sl'lXlMKN    OK    SCri.rriKK    (IN'    illKROcJl.Yl'HIC    STAUiWAY,    CUl'AN 


I 


tools  for 
to  have 
mrchical 
It  l)casts 
e  stairs  ; 
ry  about 
impelled 
[ley  died 
le  thiii>;;s 
:r  uiuler- 
iinselves. 


KSKINU)    J  \I'K    AI)/K 


CHArTKR  11 


LAxr,r.\(ilvS    AND    niAI.KCT» 

THKRR  were  many  tribes  and  many  tribe-groups,  or,  as  the  lat- 
ter aie  usually  desi<^nated,  "  stocks,"  among  the  Amerinds. 
These  various  slocks  differed  consideral)ly  from  each  other 
in  manners,  customs,  possibly  ir  origin,  and  in  languages,  the 
last  often  being  widely  different.'  Yet  there  was  a  homogeneity 
l)inding  them  all  together  as  one  distinct  race  while  at  the  same 
time  separating  them  completel}'  from  other  races  of  the  world  as 
now  constituted.  The  subdivisions  of  the  Amerind  stocks  were 
not  always  contiguou.sly  distributed  on  the  continent,  but,  as  in 
the  case  of  the  Navajo-Apache  branch  of  the  Athapascan,  some- 
times separated  from  their  kindred  by  wide  stretches  of  territory 
peopled  by  other  stocks,  and  also,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Navajos, 
somewhat  altered  by  absorption  of  people  of  another  stock.  Vari- 
ous methods  of  arranging  the  distribution  and  classification  of 
these  stocks  have  been  attempted,  but  the  basis  of  language  appears 
to  offer  the  most  advantages  and  the  greatest  accuracy.  There 
are  some  who  dispute  the  correctness  of  the  present  analysis  of 
the  Amerind  languages,  and  deprecate  the  classifications  obtained 

'  The  widest  diflferences  were  in  the  Maya  and  the  Tiniuquanan.  Kach 
of  these  differed  greatly  from  the  bulk  of  the  Amerind  languaji;es  and  from 
each  other,  probably  because  both  stocks  held  more  isolated  positions  than 
the  others  during  the  glacial  period,  and  preserved  more  of  their  earlier  life, 
whatever  it  may  have  been. 

2 

17 


f 


««i» 


fr=-^ 


i8 


Tlie   Nortli-Aincricans  of  Yt'sterda\ 


\h     V 


l)y  this  means,'  but  foremost  students,  like  Krinton,  Gatscliet, 
Pov\eil.  vSteinthal,  and  others,  have  pronounced  unequ'vocally  in 
favour  of  its  vahie  when  applied  with  judgment. 

"  Nothing  is  so  indelible  as  speecli,"  wrote  George  Bancroft  ; 
"  sounds  that  in  ages  of  unknown  antiquity  were  spoken  among 
the  nations  of  Hindostan  still  live  in  their  significanc}-  in  the  lan- 
guage which  we  daily  utter."  And  this  fact  has  been  the  corner- 
stone of  the  modt.TH  science  of  linguistics,  which  maintains 
accordingly  that  the  possession  of  similar  laiitiHai^c  roots  ami 
granunatical  con^.truclion  by  two  otherwise  distinct  tribes  proves 
a  relationship  vjr  a  connnon  descent.  In  this  way,  as  is  well 
understood,  the  Indo-Germanic  —  that  is,  our  luiropean  stock — 
has  been  traced  b;icV'  toward  its  origin.  The  accuracy  of  this  has 
been  questioned,  but  it  doubiless  affords  the  best  method  attain- 
able.' The  same  principle  is  applicable  to  the  American  languages, 
which  afford  an  immense  field  for  linguistic  studv  in  their  grtat 
diversity.  This  diversity  is  not  popularly  understood,  the  majority 
of  our  people  believing  that  if  a  person  can  .speak  "  Indian"  he 
could  converse  with  every  tribe  on  the  continent.  Yet  within  a 
limited  area  in  Arizona  he  would  find  uaeless  in  four  different 
tribes  the  language  he  had  learned,  say,  in  California  ;  and  in  Cali- 
fornia itself  some  twenty  or  thirty  tribes  would  listen  to  his  words, 
as  well  as  to  those  of  each  other,  without  a  gleam  of  understanding. 
And  not  one  of  the  languages  of  any  of  these  tribes  would  serve 
him  in  the  Mississippi  or  in  the  Atlantic  region  any  better  than 
English,  for  the  Iroquois  and  the  Algonquin  and  other  Eastern 
tongues  are  as  widely  different  from  t'..ose  of  California  as  they 
are  from  each  other,  while  every  one  contains  ninne*  his  dialects, 
or  what  may  be  called  sub-languages,  also  exhibiting  great  vnria- 
tions.  The  early  missionaries  were  slow  to  discover  these  facts, 
and  it  was  a  source  of  discouragemetit  for  them  to  learn  that,  after 
long  study  lo  acquire  a  language,  it  was  spoken  by  only  a  single 
group  of  the  natives,  while  adjacent  to  them  dwelt  others  who 
spoke  a  totally  different  one.^ 

'vSeeJ.  X.  n.  Hewitt,  .limricau  .iiitlwopoloirisf,  October,  1S93. 

'•'  "There  ;re  well-known  examples  in  the  ethnoj,^rapliy  of  other  races, 
where  reliance  on  languaj^e  alone  wonld  lead  the  investigator  astray  ;  hiil 
all  serious  students  of  the  native  American  trilies  are  united  in  the  ojiinion 
that  with  them  no  other  clue  can  compare  to  it  in  general  results." — I).  Ct. 
BriiUon,  Tlir  .bnrriaiii  A'acr,  Treface. 

'  As    to   the  value   of  linguistics   as  a   means    of  classification,    Cyrus 


LanL^uaLTcs  and    Dialects 


19 


jatschet, 
'ocally  ill 

Bancroft  ; 
ill  among 
[1  the  Ian- 
ic  corner- 
maintains 
roofs   and 
)es  proves 
as  is  well 
n  stock — 
3f  this  has 
lod  attain- 
anguages, 
heir  grtat 
le  majority 
tidian  ' '  he 
;t  within  a 
r  different 
nd  in  CaU- 
his  words, 
irstanding. 
,-onld  serve 
better  than 
er  Eastern 
na  as  they 
LIS  dialects, 
;;reat  varia- 
these  facts, 
1  that,  after 
ily  a  single 
others  who 


1S93. 

other  races, 
r  astray  ;  luu 
11  the  opinion 
nits."— I).  <■■• 

cation,   Cvrnii 


Kven  where  a  gronp  of  Ainerinds  speak  related  languages,  or 
dialects,  there  are,  and  were,  sncli  wide  variations  that  the  one  is 
not  nnderstood  by  those  speaking  the  other.     Therefore  we  have 


J 


I'cMbnily  MiiSL'um 

"  SIN(;iN(;-(;iKI,"    SCl'I  ■    I  IRKD    IN     I  K  \(   IIVI  K 
From  dOliris  of  Temple  .•.>,  (    ip.ui.     Nli-htly  lar.;cr  tliaii  life 

Thomas  says:  "  On  the  one  side,  it  is  held  by  some  anthors  tliat  affinity  ol" 
lan.una^'cs  implies  racial  identity  or  nnity  of  ori.t,dn  ;  on  the  otlur,  it  is  eon- 
tended  that  the  theory  that  the  affinity  of  languages  necessarily  ini])lies 
identity  of  race  is  not  warranted." 


m 


i| 


\r^] 


20 


The   North-Americans   of  Yesterday 


ii  ' 


t  i' 


I 


'I, 


I 


ill  North  America  not  only  a  large  nunil)er  of  distinct  languages, 
but  within  the.-.e  separate  languages  an  immense  number  of  dia- 
lects or  sub-languages,  sometimes  as  many  as  twenty  in  one  stock 
varying  from  each  other  as  much  as,  say,  Knglish  and  German. 
At  least  sixty-five  of  the  separate  stock  languages  are  distin- 
guished in  North  America  which  appear  so  radically  separated 
from  each  other  that  it  is  believed  impossible  that  they  ever 
should  have  sprung  from  the  same  parent,  unless  it  may  have  been 
at  a  time  so  remote  as  to  be  beyond  the  scope  of  present  investiga- 
tion. In  the  classification  according  to  these  languages  it  has 
been  nece.ssary  to  have  a  general  designation  for  each  stock,  and 


U.  S.  Hu.  Eth. 


TKKKA    COTTA    SI'OOl,,    c  lllUKjl  1 


in  selecting  the  names  to  be  thus  used,  Powell  and  others  have 
observed  the  law  of  priority  of  mention,  as  far  as  possiljle,  and 
have  derived  the  stock  name  from  the  author  first  mentioning  it 
in  print  .since  1836,  the  date  of  Gallatin's  great  work,  which  is 
taken  as  the  foundation.  The  termination  "  an,"  or  "  iaii,"  is 
added  to  distinguish  the  family  or  .stock  name  from  a  tribal  name, 
for  often  a  tribe  bears  the  name  given  to  the  whole  stock.  As  ex- 
amples, Algonquian  may  be  mentioned  as  a  stock  name  taken  from 
the  tril)al  name  of  Algonquin,  and  Mayan  from  the  tribal  name, 
Maya.  This  is  not  always  .strictly  adhered  to  outside  of  the  Bureau 
of  Ethnology  because  of  its  frequent  inconvenience,  and  in  the  ca.se 
of  Mayan  the  term  Maya  is  preferably  used  by  some  investigators 
and  writers  as  being  simpler,  and  Brinton  gives  it  as  the  stock 


I  I 


^  relay 

tstimt  languages, 
ie  number  of  dia- 
■enty  in  one  stock 
iish  and  German. 
:uages  are  distin- 
idically  separated 
e  that  they  ever 

it  may  have  been 
present  investiga- 

languages  it  has 
or  each  stock,  and 


Lantaiatres  and   Dialects 


21 


11  and  others  have 
far  as  possiljle,  and 
first  mentioning  it 
eat  work,  which  is 
an,"  or  "  ian,"  is 
from  a  tribal  name, 
hole  stock.     As  ex- 
ck  name  taken  from 
om  the  tribal  name, 
•utside  of  the  Bureau 
ince,  and  in  the  case 
V  some  investigators 
ives  it  as  the  stock 


name.'  Following  the  distribution  of  tribes  as  closely  as  possible 
at  the  time  of  the  first  contact  with  white  men,  Powell  and  his  able 
associates  of  the  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Ethnology  in  Washington 
have  produced  a  map,  based  on  Gallatin's.'  The  separate  stocks 
north  of  Mexico  are  each  represented  by  a  different  colour,  every 
colour  standing  for  a  variation  in  language  as  great  as  that  between 
Hebrew  and  PInglish,  not  related  as  English  and  Spanish.  Fifiy- 
L-ight  are  thus  shown,  but  south  of  the  Mexican  border  are  perhaps 


--•'*\ 
b"--)^ 


y^  y 


AI.IAR    O,    COI'W.     lIOM.rKAS 
From  phiitogr.iph  by  M.  H  ,ic,  Museum  uf  Natural  Hisinry 

a  dozen  more.  Continuous  .-^tudx  ma\  succeed  in  bringin-  .some 
of  the  stocks  into  relationship  or  in  di\iding  them  .still  further. 
In  their  beginning,  languages  probal:)ly  chati.-;e(l  rapidl;  ;  memory 
was  deficient,  intercourse  slight,  and  comparatively  short  s,  para- 
tions  of  tribes  speaking  originally  the  same  tongue  were  sulHcient 
to  establish  entire  new  .sets  of  words.  These  .separ  cions  were  apt 
to  occur  frequently  when  methods  of  sul)sistence  were  crude  and 
difficult,  migrations  frequent,  and  population  sparse  \s  races 
developed   memory   grew   to   better   proportions,     ui  '    after   the 

'  D.  O.  Rrinton,  T/ie  .liiicrican  Race.  He  does  not  approve  wholly  of 
tlit'so  teriniiiatious. 

■  Sr:rn//i  .hiiiual  h'cpoif,  ( '.  S.  liurcaii  of  Kfhiioloi^y,  contains  conii)lete 
list  of  American  race  stock.s,  north  of  Mexico,  as  far  a.s  known.  See  Appendix. 


m 


\.A 


ItH  «l 


'T^r— r- 


22 


The  North-Americans  of  Yesterday 


I 


ii 


ii 


I 


introduction  among  the  Amerinds  of  mnemonic  records  and  other 
memory  devices  their  languages  became  riiore  crystallised,  till 
within  the  later  centuries  changes  have  come  about  slowly. 
That  man\'  more  languages  once  existed  on  the  American  conti- 
nents than  we  have  any  trace  of  is,  therefore,  probable.  By 
intercourse,  ijy  intermingling,  by  the  crossing  and  ab.sorbing  of 
stocks  was  finally  produced  what  we  find  to-day,  or  did  find  yes- 
terday, a  reduced  luuuber  of  dilTerent  stocks,  but  still  so  many 
that  the  arclucologist  views  the  field  with  amazement,  and  the 
layman  looks  upon  it  with  incredulity. 

And  these  Amerind  Luiguages  are  as  remarkalile  for  their  sepa- 
ration in  a  body  from  the  Old  World  languages  as  they  are  in 
their  separation  from  each  other.  This  in  itself  seems  to  bestow 
upon  tile  Amerind  people  a  vast  antiquity  in  their  isolation  from 
other  peoples,  and  adding  to  it  the  testimony  of  their  art  works, 
their  implements,  and  their  pictographs  and  hieroglyphs,  there 
seems  to  be  no  escape  from  granting  them  to  be  a  division  of  man- 
kind l)y  themselves. 

Not  only  does  the  differentiation  of  the  stock  languages  indi- 
cate antiquity,  but  that  of  the  dialects  adds  strong  testimony. 
Brinton  cites  Dr.  vStohl's  opinion  that  "  the  difference  which  is  pre- 
sented between  the  Cakchiquel  and  the  Maya  dialects  could  not 
have  arisen  in  less  than  2000  years."  ' 

It  may  be  urged  tliat  the  Amerind  languages  are  loose  and 
•shiUing  and  that  a  few  centuries  would  be  sufficient  to  bring  about 
on  this  continent  a  complete  and  total  difference  in  a  language 
from  its  mother  tongue  in,  we  will  say,  »Siberia  ;  but  the  more 
closely  the  matter  is  studied  the  more  apparent  is  the  tenacity- 
with  which  each  stock  retains  its  special  form.  Of  this  tenacity 
a  modern  exami)le  exists  in  the  village  of  Tewa  (or  Hano)  now 
forming  one  of  the  seven  villages  of  tlie  Moki,  and  situated  on 
what  is  known  as  tlie  "  h'irst  or  Ivist  Mesa."  The  people  of  this 
village  are  not  Hopi  (Moki  '  stock,  Hopi  being  the  Moki  name  for 
themselves,"  but  belong  to  a  Rio  Grande  stock,  the  Taiioan  of 
Powell,  and  the  Tehua  of  Brinton,  having  come  from  the  Rio 
Grande  country  to  their  present  location  somewhere  about  i6S(). 
The  Moki,  who  are  believed  to  belong  to  the  Shoshonean  .stock 

'  Fsstivsofaii  .iiiuriiiniisl,  j).  35. 

'■'Hopi  is  liie  siii,<,'iil:ir  ;  Ilopituh  tlie  plural.  I)i-.  I'Vwkes  .nul  others 
having  decided  in  favour  of  the  singular  I'lin,  it  is  so  given  here. 


L 


id  other 
sed,   till 

slowly. 
.11  conti- 
.Ic.  By 
■l)iiig  of 
ind  yes- 
so  many 

and  the 

leir  sepa- 
•y  are  in 
:o  bestow 
Lion  from 
rt  works, 
hs,  there 
11  of  maii- 

iges  indi- 
cstimony. 
ich  is  pre- 
C(mld  not 

loose  and 
ing  about 
language 
tlu'  more 
tc-nacity 
tenacity 
;ano)  now 
ituated  on 
lie  of  this 
name  for 
aiioan  of 
n  the  Rio 

K)Ut   I  6 So. 

lean  stock 
i'.ml  others 


f 


w'' 


\         A 


H 


R 


If'   ) 


1 1. 


.  ! 


I  l! 


1  ' 


(P 


I!  ' 


24 


The  North-Americans  of  Yesterday 


(though  they  are  probably  composite),  permitted  them  to  repair 
and  occupy  old  houses  which  stood  on  the  site  of  the  present 
village  and  there  they  have  lived  amicably  ever  since,  to  all  ap- 
pearances completely  amalgamated  with  the  Moki.  The  ordinary 
observer  sees  little  to  distinguish  them  from  the  other  Amerinds 
of  the  locality,  and  they  speak  the  Moki  language  like  Mokis,  but 
within  their  own  village  and  by  their  own  firesides  thej'  largely 
use  the  speech  of  their  forefathers,  and  to  all  appearances  will  go 
on  speaking  it  till  the  end.  Here,  then,  is  this  little  community 
separated  for  a  long  period  and  by  many  miles  from  their  inmie- 
diate  kindred,  mingling  daily  with  people  of  another  stock  and 
another  language,  yet  preserving  their  own  language  intact. ^ 
And  if  this  has  happened  once  within  historical  times  it  maj-  have 
happened  before  any  number  of  times,  and  goes  to  prove  that  these 
various  languages  have  in  them  elements  of  stability  greater  than 
has  heretofore  been  admitted.  Powell  says  that  in  his  long  study 
of  savage  tongues  he  has  everywhere  been  "  impressed  with  the 
fact  that  they  are  singularly  persistent,  and  that  a  language  which 
is  dependent  for  its  existence  upon  oral  tradition  is  not  easily 
modified."  On  the  other  hand  John  Fiske  expresses  the  opinion 
that  "  barbaric  languages  are  neither  widespread  nor  durable.  In 
the  course  of  two  or  three  generations  a  dialect  gets  so  strangely  al- 
tered as  virtually  to  lose  its  identity. ' '  The  Algonquian  languages 
were  spread  over  an  immense  area,  and  the  Shoshonean  had  an  even 
greater  range. 

Brinton  contradicts  the  assertion  of  Waldeck  "  that  the  lan- 
guage (of  the  Mayas)  has  undergone  such  extensive  changes  that 
what  was  written  a  century  ago  is  unintelligible  to  a  native  of  to- 
day. So  far  is  this  from  the  truth  that,  except  for  a  few  obsolete 
words,  the  narrative  of  the  Conquest,  written  more  than  three 
hundred  years  ago  by  the  chief,  Pech,  could  be  read  without  diffi- 
culty by  any  educated  native. ' '  Thus  it  seems  probable  that  the 
Amerind  languages  extant  have  been  spoken  nearly  as  we  know 
them  to-day  for  a  great  many  centuries,  and  that  modifications 
crept  in  slowly  ;  so  slowly  that  the  language  roots  and  gram- 
matical construction  of  the  various  stocks  are  so  distinct  that  they 

'  They  have  intermarried  with  the  Hopi  and  Navajo  till  Fewkes  believes 
that  in  "  the  next  generation  the  percentage  of  pure  Taiioan  blood  will  be 
so  small  that  we  cannot  regard  the  stock  as  Tanoan." — American  AnthrO' 
pologisty  April,  1894,  p.  167. 


Languages  and  Dialects 


25 


repair 
resent 
all  ap- 
dinary 
lerinds 
:is,  but 
largely 
will  go 
nullity 

inime- 
ck  and 
intact.- 
ly  have 
at  these 
;er  than 
g  study 
vith  the 
e  which 
t  easily 

opinion 
ble.  In 
igely  al- 
nguages 

an  even 

the  lan- 
iges  that 
ve  of  to- 
obsolete 
an  three 
out  diffi- 
that  the 
we  know 
ifications 
id  gram- 
Ihat  they 

es  believes 
)Ocl  will  be 
in  An  thro- 


form  the  safest  guide  now  available  in  the  classification  of  the 
various  branches  of  the  Amerind  race  ;  and  furthermore  that, 
judged  by  these  tests,  these  languages  have  no  relationship  to  any 
other  group.  Powell  places  more  reliance,  as  a  test,  in  the  lexical 
elements, — that  is,  in  the  langxiai^e  roots, — than  in  the  grammatical 
structure,  as  the  latter  is  constantly  changing.  "  The  roots  of  a 
language,"  he  maintains,  "  are  its  most  permanent  characteristics, 
and  while  the  words  which  are  formed  from  them  may  change  so 
as  to  obscure  their  elements  or  in  some  cases  even  to  lose  them,  it 
seems  that  they  are  never  lost  from  all,  but  can  be  recovered  in 
large  part."  If  there  should  be  advanced  the  criticism  that  these 
Amerind  languages  had  little  or  no  literature,  and  therefore  are 
not  equal  to  languages  so  recorded,  as  a  test  of  affinity,  it  may  l)e 
noted  that  the  largest  number  of  languages  throughout  the  world 
have  produced  no  literature.  Max  Miiller  says  :  "  It  is  a  mere  acci- 
dent that  languages  should  ever  have  been  reduced  to  writing." 
However  this  may  be,  such  an  accident  appears  to  be  in  the  line 
of  regular  human  development,  and  when  a  people  arrive  at  the 
right  point  in  their  mental  ev^olution  they  invent  a  means  of  re- 
cording their  thought.  It  seems,  therefore,  to  be  rather  a  state 
of  mind  than  an  accident.  The  Mayas  of  this  continent  had 
reached  the  point  for  speech  recording  and,  following  the  natural 
order,  they  invented  a  system  and  made  books  of  record. 

Because  of  certain  similarities  of  physique,  of  words,  or  of 
myths,  or  of  customs,  however  slight,  the  Amerinds  have  been 
identified  with  almost  every  people  under  the  sun.'  These  simi- 
larities are  only  such  as  might  occur  where  similar  organisms  are 
continuously  subjected  to  similar  conditions,  and  the  really  remark- 
able fact  is  that  there  are  not  more  and  even  closer  resemblances. 
Some  of  the  arguments  advanced  to  uphold  the  so-called  identifica- 
tions are  extraordinary.  In  language  the  Amerinds  have  been 
found  to  speak  —  or  at  least  have  been  claimed  to  speak  —  Irish, 
Welsh,  Norse,  Chinese,  and  many  other  independent  or  inter- 
related tongues,  yet  with  the  exception  of  the  Basque,  the  struc- 
ture of  all  the  Old  World  languages  has  little  in  common  with  the 
Amerind.  Brinton  has  shown  '  that  a  number  of  Maya  words  re- 
semble our  English  words  of  the  same  meanings,  as,  bateel  and 
battle,  hoi  and  hole,  hun  and  one,  luni  and  loam,  pol  and  poll 

'  See  Chap.  XVI. 

'  The  American  Race  and  Chronicles  of  the  Maya. 


\\ 


26 


The   Nortli- Americans  of  Yesterday 


ii 


5.       ! 
I 


(head),  potum  and  pot,  pul  and  pull,  and  so  on,  but  nobody  has 
yet  ventured  to  deduce  from  this  that  the  Mayas  are  first  cousins 
of  the  Knglish,'  The  Maya  language  certainly  docs  differ  from 
almost  all  others  on  the  continent  in  its  construction.  IJefore 
Gallntin's  time,  the  wildest  statements  flourished  because  the  few 
linguists  who  had  paid  attention  to  Amerind  languages  had 
worked  in  rather  a  desultory  manner  and  had  made  no  determined 
effort  to  systematise  them  and  group  them  under  their  stock 
names.  Gallatin  was  the  first  to  bring  order  out  of  what  appeared 
to  be  an  almost  hopeless  tangle,  and  Powell,  Brinton,  and  others, 
supplementing  and  developing  these  labours  of  Gallatin,  have  been 
able  to  present  the  subject  in  definite  shape  with  a  promise  of 
greater  accuracy  in  the  near  future.  Many  languages  which  are 
known  to  have  existed  at  the  beginning  of  Kuropean  acquaintance 
with  America  have  disappeared  with  the  tribes  which  used  them. 
Some  of  these  were  .spoken  by  mere  handfuls  of  people,  while 
others  were  wider  .spread. 

With,  .so  many  distinct  languages  on  the  continent,  and  with 
many  tribes  totally  ignorant  of  the  speech  of  tlitir  neighbours, 
there  became  necessary  a  means  for  the  interchange  of  ideas  which 
should  not  entireh^  rely  on  spoken  words,  and  this  means  was 
found  in  a  "  sign-lnnguage  "  assisted  by  a  few  words  of  each 
spoken  language  which  were  simple  and  connnonly  known,  or  by 
words  which  belonged  to  no  .s})oken  language  but  which  through 
accident  were  attributed  l)y  each  side  to  the  other.  This  sign- 
language  was  of  extensive  development  and  existed  not  only 
among  the  Amerinds  but  all  over  the  world,  and  bore  a  resem- 
blance to  the  .sign-language  now  used  in  some  of  our  deaf-mute 
schools.  This  peculiar  .sign-language  possessed  varieties  like 
spoken  language  corresponding  to  dialects.  For  a  time  its  exist- 
ence was  disputed,  but  the  work  of  Mallery  and  others  has  estab- 
lished it  beyond  question. 

Besides  the  gesture  language,  tribes  not  understanding  each 
other's  .speech  had  recourse  to  a  medley  of  corrupted  words  from 
each  language,  from  other  languages,  and  from  no  language  at 
all  but  springing  into  being  through  misunderstandings  and 
necessities.  When  white  men  came  upon  the  scene  they  often 
thought  they  were  talking  "  Indian,"  while  the  Amerinds  thought 

'  For  further  coincidences  see  Payne,  History  of  the  Ncio  World  Called 
AmericiX^  vol.  ii.,  p.  7S,  rf  se(/. 


LaiiiTiiaLiCs  and    Dialects 


27 


dy  has 
lousitis 
r  from 
liefore 
.he  few 
us   had 
nuined 
r  stock 
)peared 
others, 
ve  been 
luise  of 
lich  are 
iiitance 
d  them. 
:,  while 

nd  with 
^hbours, 
IS  which 
atis  was 
of  each 
11,  or  by 
through 
lis  vSigii- 
lot   only 
I  rcsem- 
iaf-mute 
ties  like 
ts  exist- 
as  estab- 

mg  each 
rds  from 
Tallage  at 
ngs  and 
.ey  often 
thought 

rid  Called 


s 

i 


it  was  the  white  man's  tongue,  and  neither  was  talking  the  lan- 
guage of  the  other  at  all  or  of  any  other  people  in  existence.  It 
was  a  jargon.  If  the  whites  had  previously  learned  .something  of 
another  Amerind  tongue,  for  example  Algonquin,  and  they  were 


r.S.  Til.  Kth. 


I'OI.ISUri)    III.ACK    WAKK,    SANIA    (  I.AKA,     M  W    MKXHo 


trying  to  talk  to  Dakotas,  they  would  use  Algonciuin  terms,  .sup- 
posing them  to  be  intelligible  to  the  Dakotas,  and  the  latter  would 
.suppose  them  to  l^e  English  words.  The.se  would  gradually  ac- 
cumulate through  usage,  together  with  nondescript  terms,  until  a 
working  jargon  was  formed.     In  this  may  perhaps  be  discovered 


%n 


L 


1 


f      i 


I  t     j 


. 


I; 


^1       i[  ' 


28 


The   North- Americans  of  Yesterday 


one  of  the  causes  that  led  to  the  former  belief  that  Amerind  lan- 
guages were  loose  aud  cliangeable. 

One  of  tlie  must  important  and  most  interesting  of  the  jargon 
languages  is  that  known  as  the  Chinook,'  in  the  north-western 
United  States,  along  the  Columbia  River,  which  grew  into  such 
proportions  that  it  formed  at  length  the  principal  language  in  a 
wide  district.  It  is  made  up  of  words  from  Chinook,  Chehali, 
Selish,  Nootka,  English,  French,  and  other  languages,  with  a 
large  numbe''  of  words  that  belong  nowhere  else.  This  same 
process  in  earlier  times  going  on  between  several  different  tribes 
doubtless  gave  birth  to  permanent  languages,  vvhicli  in  their  turn 
were  again  modified.  F,ven  in  ourownevery-day  English  we  use 
hundreds  of  l)orrowed  words  and  also  some  that,  like  "  skedaddle," 
"  mugwump,"  etc.,  were  coined  for  special  occasions.  We  hardly 
give  a  thought  to  the  origin  of  these  words  which  are  seen  side  by 
side  with  others  that  have  come  to  us  through  a  thousand  years 
and  still  others  that  were  only  yesterday  the  gift  of  the  Amerind. 
How  few  realise  when  they  .say  chocolate,  squash,  mush,  hominj', 
pone,  succotash,  or  other  terms  equally  familiar  from  Amerind 
sources,  that  they  are  talking  "  Indian  "  !  Tobacco,  of  course,  all 
understand  came  from  the  native  language,  but  it  is  generally 
supposed  to  have  been  the  name  of  the  plant,  when  in  reality  it 
was  the  name  of  the  roll  of  leaves  from  the  plant,  which  was 
called  "  a  tobacco,"  as  we  now  call  it  a  cigar. 

Sometimes  words  appear  similirwhen  they  have  no  shadow 
of  relationship,  the  resemblance  being  purely  accidental.  Powell 
cites  the  word  "  tia,"  meaning  deer  in  some  of  the  Shoshonean 
languages.  This  was  at  first  supposed  to  be  an  attempt  on  the 
part  of  the  Shoshones  to  pronounce  our  own  word  "  deer,"  but 
further  investigation  has  shown  it  to  be  the  original  Shoshone 
name  for  deer,  and  that  in  some  dialects  it  was  called  "  tiats  "  and 
in  others  "  tiav."  Brinton,  as  already  mentioned,  calls  attention 
to  similar  resemblances  between  Maya  and  English  words. 

A  tribe  would  often  possess  two  languages,  one  known  only  to 
the  priesthood  and  the  other  the  language  of  the  people,  the  priest 
language  being  the  older,  just  as  to-day  we  find  the  priests  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church  using  a  dead  language  in  their  sacred 
functions  while  the  parishioners  use  the  ordinary  one.     Bourke 

'  See  the  American  Authropolojs^ist,  July,  T894,  vol.  vii.,  "The  Chinook 
Jargon,"  by  Myron  Eells. 


'.»-, 


Lan_£(ua^es  and   Dialects 


29 


id  Ian- 
jargon 
western 

0  such 
Te  in  a 
hehali, 
with  a 
s  same 
t  trii:)es 
iir  turn 

we  use 
addle," 
:  hardly 

side  Ijy 
d  years 
merind. 
lominy, 
Amerind 
urse,  all 
enerally 
eality  it 
ich  was 

shadow 
Powell 
shonean 
on  the 
er,"  but 
hoshone 
its"  and 
ittention 
3. 

1  only  to 
he  priest 
its  of  the 
ir  sacred 

Bourke 

e  Chiuook 


believed  that  the  Zunis  and  the  Mokis  each  have  a  language  ot 
this  kind,'  and  it  is  thought  that  the  Central-American  tribes  also 
had.  Such  hieratic  languages  would  necessarily  be  far  older  than 
the  languages  in  common  use,  therefore  if  the  latter  teud  to  indi- 
cate a  great  antiquity  for  the  Amerind  race,  we  should  be  carried 
.'till  farther  back  by  the  hieratic  languages.  Occasionally  tribes 
have  spoken  two  languages,  both  familiar  to  the  conmion  people, 
?s  in  the  case  of  the  Tewas  speaking  Moki  as  well  as  their  own 
language,  already  referred  to.  The  Tubares  of  Mexico,  nearly 
extinct,  are  said  to  have  spoken  two  different  languages  among 
themselves,  one  a  dialect  of  the  Nahuatl.' 

Gatschet,  the  eminent  student  of  Amerind  languages,  declares 
that  "  the  majority  suppose  that  an  Indian  language  is  .simply  a 
gibberish  not  worth  bothering  about,  but  languages  that  can  pre- 
serve identity  for  centuries  are  certainly  something  more  than 
gibberish."  He  further  points  out  that  while  "  the  Indian 
neglects  to  express  with  accuracy  .some  relations  which  seem  of 
permanent  importance  to  us,  as  tense  and  sex,  his  language  is 
largely  superior  to  ours  in  the  variety  of  its  personal  pronouns,  in 
many  forms  expressing  the  mode  of  action,  or  the  idea  of  property 
and  possession,  and  the  relations  of  the  per.sons  addressed  to  the 
subject  of  the  sentence." 

Again  it  is  said  by  some  persons,  "  Why  study  languages  which 
have  no  literature,  and  dialects  that  are  known  only  to  savages  ?  " 
but  Max  Mtiller  insists  that  "  dialects  which  never  produced  any 
literature  at  all,  the  jargons  of  savage  tribes,  the  clicks  of  Hotten- 
tots, and  the  vocal  modulations  of  the  Indo-Chinese,  are  as  im- 
I)ortant,  nay,  for  the  solution  of  some  of  our  problems,  more 
important,  than  the  poetry  of  Homer  or  the  pro.se  of  Cicero.  We 
do  not  want  to  know  languages  ;  we  want  to  know  language,  what 
l:m<;uage  is,  how  it  can  form  a  vehicle  or  organ  of  thought  ;  we 
want  to  know  its  origin,  its  nature,  its  laws." 

Here  in  North  America  exists  a  splendid  field  for  this  study, 
but  until  recently  it  has  been  sadly  neglected.  This  neglect  has 
l)ccn  largely  due  to  the  attitude  of  the  people  at  large,  an  attitude 
of  apathy  and  contempt  for  anything  "  Indian."     Opportunities 

'  Snake  Dance  of  the  MokiSy  p.  190. 

■  There  are  analogies  between  the  Nahuatl  and  some  languages  of  the 
Nor'h-west  and  Alaska,  especially  that  of  the  Koluschan,  or  Tlinkit,  living 
aloui;  the  sea  from  Dixon  Entrance  to  Prince  William  Sound. 


■i 


V 


I 


'I 

1 1 


*J 


30 


The  North-Aniericans  of  Yesterday 


that  can  never  come  again  have  been  allowed  to  pass  heedlessly 
away.  We  have  not  half  realised  the  importance  of  collecting  the 
linguistic  treasures  that  are  scattered  across  the  length  and  breadth 
of  the  country,  partly  because  of  the  foolish  and  narrow  estimate 
of  the  Amerind  which  for  so  long  a  time  dominated  the  pul)lic 
mind.  We  have  despised  his  languages  because  we  thought  lie 
did  not  l)athe  with  sufficient  frequency  !  "  To  draw  conclusions 
from  the  exterior  appearance  of  a  people  on  their  language,"  ex- 
claims Gatschet,  "  and  to  suppose  that  a  man  not  worth  looking 
at  cannot  speak  a  language  worth  studying,  would  be  the  acme 
of  superficiality."  Renniants  of  tribes  have  died  out  and  llieir 
language  unrecorded  has  died  with  them  even  within  a  compara- 
tively few  years.' 

As  an  example  of  the  necessity  for  prompt  investigation,  an 
incident  mentioned  by  Putnam  may  be  cited.  In  a  conversation 
with  a  gentleman  whom  he  had  recently  met,  he  learned  of  Mrs. 
Oliver's  acquaintance  with  the  Karankawas  of  Texas,  and  her 
knowledge  of  their  language.  Now  it  happened  that  Gatschet 
had  made  a  fruitless  search  in  Texas  for  .some  trustworthy  informa- 
tion regarding  the  language  of  this  extinct  tribe,  and  when  Putn.un 
sent  him  Mrs.  Oliver's  vocabulary  he  was  delighted  and  innnj- 
diately  paid  a  visit  to  the  old  lady,  obtaining  much  additional 
information  about  the.se  Amerinds,  among  whom  Mrs.  Oliver  had 
spent  her  early  life.     Within  three  months  afterward  .she  died. 

That  the  Amerind  has  no  literature  is  true  if  by  literature 
we  mean  onlj'  written  books,  for  outside  of  Yucatan  and  Mexico 
there  were  no  native  l)ooks,  and  the  vSpaniards  burned  all  they 
could  find  of  these,  but  if  we  accept  the  enormous  number  of 
legends,  myths,  songs,  and  ceremonial  lore  nniemonically  recorded, 
as  literature,  and  they  surely  become  literature  when  we  write 
them  down,  then  the  Amerind  is  not  so  poor  in  this  respect  as  has 
been  generally  considered. 

In  North  America,  as  in  other  parts  of  the  world,  the  various 
language  stocks  occupy  areas  differing  enormously  in  proportions. 
vSome  are  confined  to  .small  tracts,  while  others,  as  mentioned 
above,  are  spread  over  wide  territory.    The  Algonquian  stock,  for 

'  The  Maya,  however,  has  been  found  a  u.seful  lanj^uaj^e  by  Europeans. 
Dr.  Berendt  met  "  whole  families  of  pure  white  blood  "  who  used  this  lan- 
guage and  did  not  know  Spanish,  This  is  not  the  usual  fate  of  the  Amerind 
tongues. 


L. 


I 


ilessly 
ng  the 
rcailth 
itimate 
pul)lic 
gilt  he 
lusioiis 
2."  cx- 
ookitig 
,e  acme 
d  Iheir 
iinpara- 

ioii,  nu 
jrsalioii 
of  Mrs. 
uul  her 
iatschet 
nforina- 
Putnrau 
I  imnij- 
ditioiial 
ver  had 
died. 
teratiire 
Mexico 
all  they 
nber  of 
icorded, 
^•e  write 
:t  as  has 

various 
tortious, 
iiitioned 
tock,  for 

Liropeans. 
this  liin- 
Amerind 


It 


32 


The   North-Americans  of  Yesterday 


instance,  occupitd  an  immense  area  while  the  Zunian  is  a  mere 
spot  in  the  expanse  of  New  Mexico.  More  than  thirty  of  the 
stocks  lie  within  the  Pacific  region,  six  on  the  banks  of  the 
Klamath  River  alone. 

The  An)erind  languages,  with  the  exception  of  the  Maya  and 
possibly  one  or  two  others,  are  poly  synthetic,  and  no  other  lan- 
guages of  the  world  have  exactly  this  construction,  though,  as  has 
previously  been  stated,  that  of  the  Basques  has  a  construction 
somewhat  similar.  By  polysynthetic  is  meant  a  language  that 
permits  the  incorporation  of  a  great  many  words  in  one  sentence, 
till  all  are  fused  into  one  "  bunch-word  "  of  from  ten  to  fifteen 
or  more  syllables.  Examples  are  often  quoted  from  Eskimo  ' 
which  in  our  eyes  appear  ridiculous  in  their  cumbersome  length, 
but  they  are  as  intelligible  and  valuable  to  the  Eskimo  as  our 
words  are  to  us.  While  the  Basque  more  nearly  resembles  the 
Amerind  languages  than  does  any  other  Old  World  tongue,  it 
stops  short  of  the  incorporating  power  of  that  of  the  Amerinds. 
In  Basque  this  is  restricted  to  the  verb  and  some  pronominal 
elements,  but  in  the  Amerind  it  embraces  all  parts  of  speech. 
It  is  specially  interesting  to  note  also  that  Basque  in  the  Old 
World  is  an  isolated  language,  the  only  one  there  of  its  kind. 
The  Amerinds  who  look  alike  are  not  always  the  ones  who  .speak 
the  same  language.  Quite  different-looking  Amerinds  will  some- 
titnes  .speak  the  same  tongue,  while  others  who  look  the  same  will 
speak  dilTerent  ones.  The  Pueblos  of  New  Mexico  and  Arizona, 
while  apparently  of  one  race,  speak  several  different  stock  lan- 
guages, while  some  of  the  natives  of  Labrador,  who  are  of  appar- 
ently different  stocks,  speak  dialects  of  one  language.  Nor,  as  has 
been  mentioned,  is  the  area  occupied  by  one  stock  always  con- 
tiiuious.''  The  Athapascan,  next  to  the  Eskimo,  is  the  most 
northerly  stork,  yet  three  small  branches  are  found  south,  on  the 
Pacific  coast  of  the  United  States,  while  two  large  branches,  the 
Navajos  <'>nd  the  Apaches,  extend  through  Arizona  and  New 
Mexico,  the  latter  far  into  the  country  of  Mexico  proper.     In  the 


r 


'  This  word  was  popularly  writ  n  Esquimaux,  after  the  French.  Then 
the  Bureau  of  Ethnology  wrote  it  Eskimo,  and  this  has  been  the  accepted 
spellin>^  and  pronunciation.  But  it  is  from  the  Abnaki  dialect  of  Algonquin, 
according  to  Brinton  ( The  American  Race,  p.  59),  and  is  ^^roperly  Eski- 
mwhan.     This  is  better  represented  by  Eskinia  than  by  Eskimo. 

"^ee  !iie  list  of  stocks  in  the  Appendix. 


\    't 


Lanu-uaires  and  Dialects 


I 


33 


same  way  the  Siouau  '  lies  in  the  middle  region  of  the  United 
States,  but  a  small  band  still  lingered,  at  the  beginning  of  the 


N^    CHitr  ^*. 


c:3 


>^!l  KINK    1,)M;uIST1C    .MAP    Dl'    NOUIII     AMKKKV,     \1  TKK    TlIK    ONK    rKM'ARKI)    liV 
TUK    U,    S.    liUUIiAL:    i>K    KIII.M  H.i  h;  V 

Columbian  era,  on  the  Gulf  coast  in  Mexico,  and  another  smaller 
band  in  eastern  North  Carolina,  having  for  a  near  neighbour  still 
'  "Their  languaj^e  was  reduced  to  writinj^  some  sixty  years  ago  and  has 
now  a  considerable  literature.  Nearly  all  tl'.e  men  of  the  tribe  are  able  to 
CKiidiHt  personal  correspondence  in  their  own  language." — Moouey,  Ameri' 
nil!  Authropologist,  N.  vS.,  vol.  i.,  No.  i,  p.  137,  1S99. 


{. 


P 


^  fil 

m 


\\y\ 


it     r 


fl     y 


t      i* 


1         ;i 
I 
.1         • 


34 


riiu   North-Americans  of   W^sicrdav 


another,  which  spread  itself  over  tliree  States.  These  detached 
bands  indicate  great  movements  on  the  part  of  the  various  slocks. 
One  Amerind  language,  the  ICskimo,  has  been  traced  across  Bering 
vStrait  into  Asia,  but  thus  far  no  language  has  been  traced  from 
Asia  into  America.  When  the  Asiatic  and  North-west  Coast  in- 
vestigations instituted  by  tlie  American  Mu.seum  of  Natural  His- 
tory, under  the  au.spices  of  .Mr.  Jesup,  are  completed,  .something 
more  definite  will  be  known  on  the  subject  of  possible  affinities. 
In  addition  to  the  great  difference  in  their  formation,  some  of  the 
.\merind  languages  do  not  po.s.se.ss  sounds  conunon  to  European 
languages,  and  on  the  other  hand  they  .sometimes  have  .sounds 
rarely  heard  elsewhere.  The  Pai  Utes  have  no  "  f, "  and  when 
they  try  to  pronounce  "  fire  "  they  can  only  say  "  piah."  The  Moki 
camiot  say  "  s"  before  "  k"  or  hard  "  c. "  In  trying  to  pro- 
nounce "  .school  "  they  .say  "  cool."  There  is  no  "  r  "  in  Huron, 
Mexican,  Otomi,  and  .some  other  languages,  and  several  have  no 
"  i."  The  Iroquois  have  no  labials,  and  do  not  articulate  with 
their  lips.  Cherokee  has  the  same  peculiaritj',  as  it  is  an  Iroquoian 
language.  The  Karankawa  contains  sounds  rarely  heard  in  Euro- 
pean languages,  while  other  .sounds  connnon  to  the  latter  are  ab.sent 
altogether  from  the  Karankawa,  so  that  in  this  language  is  found 
not  only  a  complete  difference  from  European  tongues  in  gram- 
matic  structure  aiid  lexical  elements,  but  a  complete  difference  in 
phonetics  as  well,  and  in  the  last  respect  it  differs  also  from  other 
Amerind  languages.  Altogether  the  Karankawa  .shows  many 
peculiarities,  and  it  is  unfortunate  that  the  authentic  material  re- 
lating to  it  is  so  limited.  In  the  Navajo  there  is  a  common  com- 
l)ination  of  "  tl  "  with  a  peculiar  explosive  click.'  The  tongue  is 
placed  with  the  tip  against  the  roof  of  the  mouth  and  pressure  as 
for  "  t  "  made  against  it,  the  "  1  "  .sound  immediately  following  by 
an  explosion  at  the  .side.  It  is  a  peculiar  sound,  and  the  Navajo 
language  is  filled  with  it.' 

In  recording  these  Amerind  languages  and  their  peculiar 
.sounds,  no  definite  .system  was  employed  till  recently.  Travellers 
wrote  the  Amerind  words  down  with  ordinary  letters  as  the\ 
rniderstood  them,  thus  producing  great  diversity  in  method  ami 
results.     Differences  are  due  sometimes  to  a  lack  of  perception  on 

'The  "1"  like  "  cl  "  in  "exclaitii." 

''  See  also  I'ayiie's  History  of  the  .Vt'uH  otld,  vol.  ii.,  p.  96  t-t  sei/.,  for  an 
excellent  tliscussion  of  .\nierimllan>{uaj^es. 


detached 
s  slocks. 
^s  BerinLj 
ced  from 
Coast  iii- 
iiral  His- 
Muetliiiii; 
iffinilies. 
lie  of  the 
uiropeaii 
e  sounds 
ud  when 
Phe  Moki 
5  to  pro- 
11  Huron, 
.  have  no 
late  with 
[roquoian 

1  in  Euro- 
ire  absent 

2  is  found 
in  grani- 
"erence  in 
roin  other 
ws  many 
aterial  re- 
iion  com- 
tongue  is 

ressure  as 
lowing  !)>• 
le  Navajo 

•  peculiar 
Travellers 
s  as  tliL-y 
ithod  ami 
:eption  on 

se(/.,  for  .111 


r' 


0> 


v^^^^-  S^^^^-^  <^^- 


^J 


o\ 


^t^<^^-:>^-^^'^f»^^    •^=.' 


^^^P^ 


.'I 

1 


II 


I 


% 

i;    *l 


i  I 


4i: 


Written 


f^  r-^ 


56 


Tlic   Xorth-Amcricans  of  Yesterday 


4    k' 


the  part  of  the  recorder,  and  also  sometimes  to  a  difference  in  pro- 
nunciation on  the  part  of  the  Amerinds  themselves,  :<:id  again  to 
differences  of  methods  of  recording.  To  catch  the  exact  sounds 
of  a  new  language  recjuires  a  musical  ear.  I  do  not  mean  a 
knowledge  of  nuisic,  but  an  ear  that  follows  a  tune  easily. 
Without  such  an  ear  a  person  is  not  fit  to  record  language  sounds 
that  are  novel  no  matter  how  good  a  linguist  he  may  be.  Investi- 
gators ought  to  have  their  ears  tested  for  sound-perception  as  the 
eves  of  locomotive  engineers  are  tested  for  colour. 

Recognising  the  importance  of  a  system  in  the  recording  of  the 
Amerind  languages  —  the  importance  of  sy.stematising  the  ortho- 
graphy of  these  languages  —  the  U.  vS.  Bureau  of  Ethnology 
]>idjlished  an  hitrodiiitio)'.  to  flic  Study  of  Iiidiivi  Languages,  in 
which  an  alphabet  was  advocated  that  was  adapted  to  recording 
harmoniously  the  Amerind  languages.  In  this  over  sixty  .separate 
sounds  are  given  by  signs  following  as  closely  as  possible  our  own 
alphabet.  This  is  complicated  and  many  investigators  use  their 
own  sy.stems  and  translate  afterwards  into  the  more  general  one. 
Tlie  great  difference  in  the  Amerind  sounds  necessitates  many 
different  characters  and  inverted  letters  .standing  for  peculiar 
sounds. 

Of  all  the  Amerind  languages  of  North  America,  that  of  the 
I'^skimo  is  prol)ably  the  most  homogeneous.  Its  dialects  are  alike 
from  one  .side  of  the  continent  to  the  other,  following  similarity  in 
other  respects.  Dall  states  there  is  a  saying  "  that  a  man  under- 
stinuling  thoroughly  the  dialect  of  either  extreme,  could  pass  from 
village  to  village,  from  Greeidand  to  Labrador,  from  Labrador  to 
Bering  vStrait,  and  thence  .southward  to  the  Copper  River,  staying 
five  days  in  each  halting  place,  and  that  in  all  that  journey  he 
would  encounter  no  greater  dilTerences  of  .speech  and  customs  than 
he  could  master  in  the  few  days  devoted  to  each  settlement.  Prob- 
ably there  is  no  other  race  in  the  world  distril)Uted  over  an  equal 
territory,  which  exhil)its  such  .soliilarity."  They  do  not  take  to 
new  languaj;es.  Though  the  ICskimo  of  Ala.ska  have  had  long 
intercourse  with  ICnglish-speaking  men,  their  English  is  ver> 
limited.  Like  most  of  the  Amerinds,  they  prefer  to  invent  their 
own  terms  for  articles  that  are  iiew  to  them.  The  Aleutian 
I.slanders  are  of  Ivskimo  stock,  but  their  language  is  different  from 
the  main  body  of  the  family,  and  would  not  be  understood  by  them. 

The  writings  of  the  Cherokees  in  the  syllabary  of  Sequoyah 


I 


•i_. 


LaiiiriiasTcs  and   Dialects 


0/ 


;ire  ot"  sacred  fornuilas.  These  were  written  out  by  the  shamans 
and  are  thorouj^hly  Amerind.  "  They  are  not  disjointed  frag- 
ments," says  Mooney,  who  made  a  careful  study  of  the  suljject, 
"  of  a  system  long  since  extinct,  but  are  the  revelation  of  a  living 
faith  which  still  h'ls  its  priests  and  devoted  adherents."     The 


''   'I 


ri;  I'K(m;i.viii>  nkar  w  k  vm.ki.i.,  ai.aska,   iio  mi  \i:i.\    ii.ink.it 


1  niguage  used  is  full  of  archaic  forms  and  figurative  expressions, 
.stmie  of  which  even  the  shamans  cannot  now  understand.  vSome 
1)1' these  are  highly  poetical,  especially  the  prayers  "  used  to  win 
ilie  love  of  a  woman  or  to  destroy  the  life  of  an  enemy,  in  wliicli 
\vc  fmd  such  expressions  as  :  '  Now  \our  soul  fades  away  —  your 
spirit  shall  grow  less  and  dwindle  away  never  to  reappear.'  '  Let 
her  be  completely  veiled  in  loneliness, — O  lilack  »Spider,  may 
>  on  hold  her  .soul  in  your  web,  so  that  it  may  never  get  through 
Uic  meshes  ! '  '  Your  soul  has  come  int(i  tlu  very  centre  of  my 
s!)nl,  never  to  turn  away.'  "  ' 

In  nearly  all  the  Amerind  languages  there  was  a  poetical  touch, 
lint  what  seems  to  be  poetry  to  us  aro.se  partly  from  the  inability 
of  the  Amerind  to  express  himself  in  a  spiritual  way.      As  his 

'  "Cherokee  Formulas,"  Mooney,  Sevent/i  ^htii.  Rif>f.  lUi.  Efh. 


t, 


U 


MB 


,     1,. 


:   i 


'I 


*  9 

n 


38 


The  North-Americans  of  Yesterday 


religion  was  chiefly  zootheistic,  and  the  heavenly  1)odies  and  nat- 
ural forces  were  personified  as  animals,  his  comparisons  and  refer- 
ences were  not  intended  for  metaphor,  but  were  merely  the 
ordinary  workings  of  his  mind  on  the  material  at  his  command. 


f 


'    1 


NOTE 

As  it  is  sometimes  useful  to  have  at  baud  au  orderly  geographical  aud 
cultural  classification  of  tribes,  this  one  used  by  Livingston  Farrand  is  here 
given:  I,  Eskimo;  II,  North  Pacific;  III,  Mackenzie  Basin  and  Hiijh 
Plateaus ;' IV,  Columbia  River  and  California;  V,  Plains;  VI,  Eastern 
Woodlands  ;  VII,  The  South-west  aud  Mexico. 


U.  S.  I'.u.  Eth. 


lUMAN    KiiKMS,    MOKI 


U.  .S.  Bu.  Eth 


uMAllA    WAU    Cl.UH 


I 


CHAPTER  III 

PICTrRK-WRITING  —  .SIGX-I.ANGUAGK  —  WAMPUM  —  CUl'l'KD- 

sToxns ' 

OUR  pre-colunibiaii  knowledge  of  the  Amerind  people  is  at 
l)re.sent  meagre.  The  majority  of  the  difTeretit  stocks  had 
not  arrived  at  the  point  where  they  understood  how  to 
record  their  thoughts  and  their  doings.  Outside  of  the  Maya  and 
Xahnatl  slocks,  and  others  in  that  region,  there  is  nothing  but 
rude  picture-writing  to  refer  to  besides  an  al^undance  of  traditions, 
legends,  and  other  oral  matter.  All  the  Amerind  languages  are 
capable  of  being  readily  written,  being  possessed  of  grannnars  and 
of  copious  vocabularies,  but  none  of  the  tribes  north  of  Mtixico  had 
made  the  discovery  that  marks  can  represent  sounds.  We  trace 
our  alphabet  back  to  the  Romans,  still  farther  to  the  (ireeks,  and 
yet  farther  back  to  the  PhcemVians,  and  then  another  stage  l)ack 
to  even  ruder  characteis  coiuie^titig  the  chain  of  its  development 
with  the  end  links  of  such  writing  as  that  of  the  Mayas,  and  ex- 
liil)iting  writing  in  all  .stages,  from  rock  .scratching  or  [)icture- 
writing,  through  all  phases  down  to  the  work  of  the  writing  and 
printing  machines  of  to-day. 

Mankind  are  all  alike,  merely  exhibiting  different  degrees  of 
culture.  As  the  rills  in  the  mountains  born  of  the  rains  and  the 
.snows  are  all  the  same  and  reach  the  ocean  by  various  devious  and 

'  For  a  coJiiplete  preseniation  of  the  subject  of  sij^^ii-laiij^uaf^c,  see  paper 
by  Carrick  Mallery,  First  Anu.  Kept.  liu.  Eth.,  and  for  that  of  picture- 
wriliiif^  see  Tenth  Ann.  Rept.,  a  paper  by  same  author,  and  one  in  Fourth 
■  hm.  kept. 


i  IN 


h 


jE  '! 


3    I 


f  h 


I  1 


40 


The  North-Amnricans  of  Yestcrdav 


complicated  courses,  so  the  races  of  men,  emergitip  from  the  dark- 
ness of  the  past,  follow,  because  of  the  immutability  of  natural  law, 
practically  the  same  lines  of  development  through  savagery,  bar- 
barism, civilisation,  toward  a  conunon  goal  of  unification  and 
enlightenment.  The  progress  of  humanity  from  earliest  times  to 
now  appears  to  be  divided,  in  each  race  evolution,  into  several 


L.S   I'.u.  r.th. 

lAlNTI'.:)    ]'KIK<)i;i.VI'IIS,    SANTA     MAKIIAKA   COINTY,    CAI.IFOKMA 

epochs  by  certain  great  inventions  or  discoveries  which  seemed  to 
spread  themselves  over  the  world  either  from  one  centre  or  from 
several.  Of  these  the  most  important  are,  first,  fire;  second,  the 
bow  ;  third,  smelting  ;  fourth,  j)honetic  wri'Mig  ;  and  fifth,  print- 
ing. This  progression  is  not  even,  but  a  people  may  stand  still 
for  a  long  time  and  then  suddenly  become  active  in  one  particular 
line,  or  in  many  lines.'  Ours  is  the  age  of  mechanical  develop- 
ment ;  the  Greeks  made  a  stride  in  art.  When  development 
reaches  a  certain  point  and  conditions  are  favourable  for  an  in- 
vention, it  springs  into  being  not  in  one  individual  alone  but 
usually  in  several  widely  separated  ones,  as  if  the  .seed  of  it  had 

'  Note  ill  Preface  and  last  chapter  statement  as  to  irregularity  of  culture 
progress. 


ricturu-Writiiiij^  —  Si;^ni-LanguaL((;  —  Wampuni     .j  i 

been  sprinkled  over  the  earth.  It  may  h:;ve  germinated  before 
when  conditions  were  not  ripe,  bnt  it  then  died  before  even  sprout- 
ing. Knviromnent  cultivates  tlie  mind,  and  the  mind  feeds  on 
environment.  Only  a  small  portion  of  those  to  whom  an  idea 
occurs  endeavour  to  carry  it  out,  and  often  other  subsecjuent 
inventions  are  necessary  to  success. 


u.  s.  i!u.  r.tii. 


I'KTR(n;i.VrilS    IS    r.KOWN  s    cavk,    wisionsin 


On  the  Amerind  continent  before  the  advent  of  the  European 
the  various  stocks  and  tribes  were  rising  and  falling  under  the 
inlluence  of  the  moulding  conditions,  and  rising  again  or  giving 
place  to  more  highh-  vitalised  stock  which  might  succeed  in 
fertilising  in  the  brain  of  a  Hiawatha  or  a  Quetzalcohuatl  great 
ideas  that  should  lift  them  onward. 

In  the  matter  of  writing,  these  races  were  moving  toward  suc- 
cess, and  had  their  isolation  been  maintained  they  would  in  time 
have  come  to  the  full  measure.  As  it  was,  the  Mayas  '  had  reached 
a  considerable  degree  of  efficiency,  and  the  Aztecs  were  following 
close.  The  more  northern  stocks,  however,  had  not  passed  beyond 
the  elementary  stage.  In  the  sense  in  which  artists  now  use  the 
word  "  drawing,"  it  hardly  existed  anywhere  on  this  continent  ; 
that  is,  there  was  little  exactness  and  delicacy  of  delineation,  but 


I  I 


'  The  Mayas,  however,  had  passed  the  zenith  of  their  <levelopiiient. 


;  * 


*: 


;  1 


''       I 


42 


TliL*   North-Americans  of  Yesterday 


it  was  mainly  an  offhand  representation  of  olyects  in  a  barbaric 
f;ishion.  There  was  considerable  merit  in  some  of  the  work 
executed  l)y  the  sculptors,  but  it  was  nevertheless  as  a  whole 
aboriginal  and  primitive.  In  the  middle  region  the  drawings  anil 
rock  peckings '  have  no  artistic  merit  whatever,  and  are  like  the 
work  of  little  children  ;  nor  are  the  Eskimo  efTorts  much  better. 
The  ICastern  vStates  do  not  afford  the  .same  abundance  of  characters 
pecked  and  scratched,  and  sometimes  painted  on  the  rocks,  that 
exists  in  the   Rocky   Mountain  region,   and  particularly  in  the 


V.  S.  Hii.  Kth. 

I'AlM'l-.li    l'F.rK()i;i.VI'HS,     Sor  IIIKKN    I    TAIt 

South-west,  where  they  are  foutid  everywhere.'  This  may  be 
due  to  the  more  verdant  nature  of  the  eastern  part  of  the  country, 
and  also  to  the  fact  that  the  l)road,  smooth  .surfaces  of  .sandstone 
exposed  so  universally  in  the  South-west  are  generally  ab.sent  in 
the  East.     Another  reason  may  be  that  the  Amerinds  of  the  vari- 

'  "  Etching  "  is  the  word  coiiiiiionly  lused,  but  as  etching  is  a  totally  dif- 
ferent thing  it  has  no  place  in  this  connection,  and  only  adds  to  the  incon- 
gruities already  existing  in  writings  on  the  .\ineriiid  snhject. 

'^  Painli'd  characters  are  found  in  southern  Cidifornia,  west  and  south- 
west of  Sierra  Nevada  ;  painted  and  scratched,  from  Colorado  River  to 
Georgia,  north  to  West  \irginia  and  along  the  Mississippi.  Remaining  parts 
of  United  States  show  rock  scratchiugs  almost  exclusive  of  paiutiugs,  ac- 
cording to  Mallery. 


I  » 


il  t 


U, 


\: ) 


IMctiirc-WritiiiL;- —  Si^ii-Laii^^uagc  —  \Vani[)uni      43 

oils  Piit'l)lo  stocks  .111(1  allied  tribes  were  more  jjiven  to  inscribing 
llie  rocks  in  this  iiuuiiier.  Certain  it  is  that  wherever  evidences 
exist  of  the  former  occupation  of  a  locality  by  Amerinds  of  the 
Pueblo  kind,  there  rocks  will  be  found  covered  with  markings  and 
paintings.     These  people  went  everywhere  in  their  region,  and 


U.S.  Hii.  Eth. 


rKI'KOUl.VI'II    A  I     MII.l.^lidKO,     I'F.NNSVI.VANIA 


lliey  generally  left  some  record  on  the  rocks,  as  they  do  to-day. 
If  one  thinks  he  has  found  a  place  where  they  did  not  arrive  in 
that  vast  land  of  cliffs  and  canyons,  he  is  sure  soon  to  be  un- 
'^eceived.  <)nce  I  reached  a  little  platform  on  the  face  of  a  cliff  in 
\rizona  by  hard  .scrambling,  part  of  the  way  through  a  narrow 
crevice,  and  as  I  .stood  viewing  the  valley  a  thousand  feet  below, 


•I 


B 


M 


^^ 


(  'i 


s  I 


A 


\    I 


44 


The   Xorth-AiiKriciiiis  of  Yt;sttrcliiy 


I  thouj^ht,  "  Now,  at  last,  I  am  on  a  spot  where  the  Sliitiuino' 
utVLT  stood."  As  I  turjied  to  make  my  way  down  again  I  was 
confronted  by  a  lot  of  pictograplu;  spread  across  the  whole  of 
the  smooth  wall  behind.  Thus  it  was  almost  everywhere  :  in  the 
deep  gorges  of  the  Colorado  River,  in  its  .side  canyons,  in  the 
cliffs  above  and  around,  and  all  along  Green  River,  at  least 
as  far  north  as  the  lower  end  of  Split- Mountain  canyoti,   these 

j)ictures  occur. 
The  climate  is 
dry,  .'ind  thcrti 
is  little  change 
from  one  cent- 
ury '  s  e  n  (1  t  o 
another."  vSome 
are  comparative- 
ly recent,  while 
others,  even 
some  of  the 
painted  ones,  are 
old  ;  how  old  it 
is  impossil)le  to 
estimate,  but 
many  of  them 
are  found  in  re- 
gions where  no 
Amerinds  of  the 
Pueblo  type"  have  lived  within  historical  times,  or  within  the 
memory  of  those  Amerinds  who  now  occupy  the  region.  Some 
of  the  painted  figures  in  sheltered  places  appeared  fresh,  Init  they 
must  have  been  at  least  a  century  or  two  old.  The  other  Amer- 
inds, while  they  also  executed  picture-writings  of  various  kinds, 
did  not  so  often  decorate  rock  surfaces  with  them.  They  were 
more  inclined  to  drawing  and  painting  on  buffalo  robes  and  other 

'  The  name  applied  by  the  Pai  Utes  to  the  old  Puebloaiis. 

'■'  That  is,  the  rock  faces  change  slowly.  Other  changes  may  occur,  as, 
for  instance,  the  foothold  from  which  the  pictures  were  made.  I  remember 
.seeing  in  Ream's  Canyon,  Arizona,  some  pictographs  on  a  cliff  wall  that  were 
far  above  reach,  ten  or  twelve  feet  above  my  head.  My  explanation  was  that 
the  ground  had  been  washed  away  after  they  were  made. 

'  I  .say  "type,"  because  the  Pueblo  culture  was  not  confined  to  one 
stock.    "  Puebloau  "  may  be  used  to  designate  them. 


U.  S.  I!ii.  F.th. 


I'KTKOCIA'I'IIS    IN    CKORGIA 


>  I 


i'ictiin-W'ritinj^^  —  Sii^n-I.iinLiiia^c 


W 


unpiim 


to  one 


I 


!  S 


skins,  on  hark,  on  trees,  shell,  tiottcry  ;  even  the  lintnan  form  in 
some  regions  not  beinj;  exetnj>t.     The  Piiehlonns,  while  ulilisinj; 


ni 


ost  ot'  lliese  methods,  also  used  the  rocks  a  >;reat  deal,  the  con 


n- 


try  they  occupied  abounding  \n  broad,  smooth  faces  attractive  for 
this  purpose.  In  the  settled  ICast  the  perishal)le  sul)stances  have 
long  ago  disappeared,  exci'pt  those 
forluuately  preserved  in  museums 
oi  pri\'ate  collections.  Compara- 
tively lew  rock  inscriptions  are 
found  there,  and  these  have  created 
considerable  discussion  and  the 
usual  number  of  theories.  Ti>e 
markings,  undoubtedly  Algonquian, 
on  the  now  widely  known  Dighton 
Rock  in  Massachusetts  were  for  a 
long  time  ascril)ed  to  the  Northmen, 
and  were  copied  in  a  great  many 
ditl'erent  ways.'  The  trouble  arose 
from  the  .same  reason  that  has  led 
to  so  many  mi.staken  theories  re- 
garding the  Amerind  race  —  that  is, 
an  underestimate  of  their  intellect- 
ual side,  so  far  as  those  north  of  Mexico  are  concerned,  and  an 


KTMC      INSrUM'TloN      oN      Slii.NK 
ri>IM>  AT  |i;  \I  IKKi  p,  i;r|  INI    \N1), 

Iiitrdiliiciil  luri!  to  show  cciiitr.ist  tn  tlie 

Amcriiul  writiM;;s  (ir  |ii(:tH;;r;i|ili^. 
'rr.iiislatinii  :     "  \'iu(lis,  M^.rs'  (l,ui.;litor, 
rests  hiTf,     M.iy  (iml  gladden  liers'iid." 


r.  S.  I'.u.  I'.th. 


nil.liroX    Rim  K,     MAs-^  \<   lllsr.TTS 


overestimate  of  thosL-  in  the  latter  region.     Brinton  asserts  that 

'  ArockiicarYariiiouth,NovaScotia,  isinsrrihcdwithcharacterssuppostHl 
to  be  Runic,  which  have  been  translated  by  Phillips,  ''  JFarkussciniun  vnrn  " 
=  "  Ilarko'sson  addressed  the  tnen."  The  Dighton  inscn|)tiou  was  read  as 
an  accoinit  of  the  party  of  Thorfinn,  while  other  interpreters  have  made  out 
Scythian  and  Plicenician  characters.  It  is  ])ossible  that  there  may  have  been 
a  few  Runic  characters  mingled  with  the  Algonquian  on  the  Dij^hton  Rock. 


IM  ..'> 


SPT 


amw^^^^^^^mm^mi 


n  ^i 


T 


■I     li 


^ 


/C^ 


1.  Saye-.vitalli  wemigiima  woksetaki,-  At  I'lr'.t,  m  iliat 

place,  at  ail  times,  above  tiie  earth. 

2.  Ha.kunK   kwelik    owanakii    wak    yiilali    kit.iiiitowit 

csscip.— •  »n   tlie  earth    (wasi   an  i  \teiulcil   foj,  ;,nd 
there  the  great  Maiiito  was. 


3.  Sayewis  hallemiwis  nolcmiwi  tlemainik,  kitaiiitm\  it- 
essop.— At  first,  forever,  lost  in  sp.ice,  >vtr\  where. 
the  great  Manito  was. 


4.     Sf.halawak   kwelik    h.ikik    cuak    awasagani  ik.-  He 
Miailc  the  extended  land  and  tlie  sky. 


5.     Snhalawak    H'shnk    nip.ihiini    alankwak.- lie    made 
the  sun,  the  mmin,  and  the  stars. 


6.     \\eml-s..h.d.iwak  ynlik  yuchaan.— He  made  them  all 
,       £^  Id  jnnve  '.\eidy. 


7.  \Vii:h-..wagan  kshakan  mnshakwat  kwelik  kshipe 
helep.-  I'heii  the  wind  blew  violently,  and  it 
cleared,  and  the  water  flowed  off  far  and  stmng. 


8.     Dpeleken    mani-menak   delsin-epit.— .\nd   .i;r..ups  cf 
islands  j:rew  newly,  and  there  remained. 


II 


I*      '' 


10 


io.-(  )winiwak  angelatawiwak  chichankwak  wenuwak.— 
•jc,  heinps,  mortals,  soids  and  all  1  spoke  the 
Manil'". 


ILl,rSTR.\TION    OK    TIIF. 


W.M.AM    01, IM"    ok     IIIK    I.IN.MK,     1K"M     I^KINI'-'N 


There  are  sixtv  of  tlic^e  Umire-;  paintol  on  the  .sticks.      I'.ach  <.i.e  rcL-alK  i.. 
tlic  memurv  of  thos'c  ul,..  have 'l-ccme  .UMuaintea   witli  the  associate.!   i.le.t,  tha 
special  idea   an-l  as  an  example  nine  .d  the  sii^ns  are  LMven  here  111  connection  \Mlh 


-1 
th 


e  assoc 


iated  idea,  an 


1  also  uitii  tlie  translation  into  l',nL,'lisli. 


There  is  seen  here  at  once  the  reseinl) 


lance  to  ( lenesis,  and   it    is 


dit'ticult   to 


lielieve  tha*  this  portion  o 


f  the  It'll /iiw  01 II III  was  1 


th 


e  missionaries. 


Hut  llrinlon  sav 


Thi 


s  simi 


i.d  inspired  hy  the  teachim^s  nf 
larilv  is  due  wiiolly  to  the  identity 


)f  psychological  act 


ion. 


the  smne  ideas  ami  laiiciesans 


sins'  from  siinih'.r  impre-sions 


■  n  New  as  w 


ell  as  OM  World  irihes. 


46 


PicturoWritin^^  —  Sign-Language  —  W'anipuni       47 


lii 


tliL'  Alt!:on(iuiiis  had  developed  tlie  ]->ictnre-\vritin<;  /r?;///^  r  fha)i  any 
otiuy  stock  north  of  the  .I'jtccs.  "It  had  passed. ' '  he  says,  ' '  from  tlu' 
representative  to  the  syinhoHc  sta.<i:e,  and  was  extensively  employed 
to  preserve  the  national  history  and  rites  <m"  the  secret  societies.  The 
figures  were  scratched  or  painted  on  pieces  of  hark  or  sla])s  of  wood, 
and  as  the  colour  of  the  paint  was  red,  these  were  sometimes  called 
"  red  sticks.'  "  Some  of  tlie.se  slabs,  or  "  red  sticks,"  like  the  W'ul- 
(till  01  Hill  {-iCalam 
=  painted,  and 
olniii  =. scores  or 
notches  on  a 
stick)  oftheLen- 
apes, '  have  been 
])reserved.  Many 
of  the  fii^ures  ex- 
ecuted b  y  the 
Amerinds,  not 
excepting  the 
A/tecs  anci  the 
M  a  y  a  s.  were 
grotesque,  a  n  d 
even  childish. 
T  heir  strange- 
ness is  frequent- 
ly due  to  our 
ViU  familiarity 
with  the  origin- 
als, figures  with  (pieer  hair-dressing,  masks,  or  complete  ceremonial 
costume,  which,  if  we  <  ould  .see  thum  to-day,  would  resemble 
nothing  we  had  ever  imagined  or  \iewed  before.  The  extraordinar\ 
niake-u|)  of  the.se  people  for  their  ceremonials  is  beyond  anything 
our  race  «.an  imagine.  Those  who  have  witnessed  Puel)lo  cere- 
monials will  understand  how  utdike  any  hinnan  being  the  wearer  of 
the  strange  costumes  can  become.  The  kwldini'  is  fearfidly  and 
wonderfully  made,  and.  especially  if  repre.sented  with  the  half-skill 

'  I'or  a  full  account  of  tile  Walaiu  ()/nih,  see  Hrinton's  "  Tlic  lAii.ipe  aiiii 
llifir  I.cKt'iuls,"  in  vol.  v.  of  his  /Jhiarv  of  .lnii  rican  .  l/>(>rii^inti/  Hist<»\. 

Tlic  pronuni-ialion  of  tliis  word  ilways  soundnl  to  uie  "  kat-chu  -udh," 
l>ul  1)1.  I'\'\vkcs  eliminates  the  "  h  "  sound  from  tliis  ami  other  word.s,  au'l 
as  ho  has  devoted  much  atteiitioii  to  the  subject  I  UjUow  his  spelling;. 


KArciNAS  IN  Tlir.  SOMMKOI.I  rKUKMONV,    CKIIfMoVI,    AKI- 
/.ii.N.v,   M>\i;miiik,   I,S'^4 

I'hiilnjjrMph  li\   till-  author 


;■, 


k   r 


t 


.1 


t! 


rt^ 


'I 


•t   t 


48 


Th('   North-Americans  of  YestcrcLiy 


of  tlie  Amerind,  would  baffle  classification  by  anyone  not  familiar 
with  the  actual  object.  Anionj;  the  early  tribes  there  were  un- 
doubtedly many  of  these  ceremonial  ilresses  and  costumes  that  we 
can  now  have  no  conception  of,  and  where  we  see  them  represented 
in  sculpture  or  drawin,y^  they  liave  a  most  uncanny  and  diabolical 
appearance.  Ivven  to-day  were  we  to  .sll  a  representation  in  their 
crude  way  of  a  simple  little  Moki  girl,  with  the  singular  arrange- 
ment of  her  hair  in  flat,  circular  puffs,  like  huge  wheels,  one  on 
each  side  of  the  head,  and  had  never  seen  or  heard  of  this  fashion 
of  hair-dressing,  we  should  be  ])U/,/.led  as  to  what  it  meant. 

St)me  of  the  ordinary  rock  pictures  may  have  been  carved  for 
.simple  amusement,  but  the  majoril\-  were  made  v,ith  a  purpose, 
and  this  was  usually  the  connnunicalion  or  recoid  of  an  idea. 
The  Amerind  records  may  be  divided  into  two  and  perhaps  three 

general  cla.sses  : 
first,  the  nniem- 
ouic  ;  second, 
the  ideographic; 
and,  third,  the 
phonetic.  lirin- 
ton  suggests  tor 
the  writings  of 
t  h  e  A  /,  t  e  c  s  , 
which  were 
])arlly  ideogra- 
phic and  i)artly 
phonetic,  t  h  e 
\.Kix\\\iko)ioni(iti(\^ 
and  used  it  in  his 
own  works.  The 
ideographic  class 
are  thoso  which 

represent  an  idea,  as  a  man  striking  another,  like  the  accompany- 
ing illustration  from  the  autobiography  of  Running  Antelope, 
who  thus  records  his  killing  of  two  Arikarees.  The  mnemonic 
class  do  not  represent  an  idea,  but  sim])ly  are  memory  helps, 
likt'  .1  string  tied  around  one's  finger,  a  good  example  being 
any  niumjal,  say  the  figure  "  9."  Th,;  phonetic  class  represent 
souikIh,  like  the  letters  of  otir  alphabet,  say  the  letter  "e."  It 
•  Hfc  Itrintoii,  lissava  of  an  .iiii,  riuinisl,  p,  21;,. 


Kii  I  I  h    rwii    \i;ik  \ui  i:> 


Picturc-WritiiiLj  —  Siy;n-Lany;uagc  —  \Vam[)uni      4c) 

is  believed  that  the  Maya  writiiii^s  were  larp^ely  plionetic,  hut  the 
phonetic  (juality  is  not  well  established. 

It  is  supposed  that  the  nineuionic  symbols  originated  in  sign- 
language.  One  of  the  most  striking  examples  of  the  univer- 
.sality  of  the  sign-language  is  the  ca.se,  cited  by  Mallery.  of  a 
professor  in  a  deaf-mute  college,  who,  visiting  several  wild  tril)es, 
was  able  to  connnunicate  freely  with  them  though  he  k:iew 
nothing  of  their  spoken  languages.  It  was  a  natural  thing  that 
races  .should  attempt  to  record  the.se  signs,  and  .some  early 
hieroglyphs  in  Ivgyptian  can  clearly  be  traced  to  them.  These 
.same  efforts  occurred  among.st  the  /Xmerind  .stocks  in  varying 
degree.  Picture-writing,  the  world  over,  as  well  as  particularly 
i-     ■  orth  America,   probably    grew 

ov  ;     i  sign-ianguage,  giving,  as  the  11   \      if// 

first  stage  in  the  development,  sign-        \\\  u\  irnM^**" 

language,  second  pictographs,  third  MJU^      >'      SfJir-ltll 

ali^habet.     These  merge  into  each  ^  j.  ./v,    rr-i| |  1 1 111  3"r 

otlier,  as  there  was  not  a  series  of  rj*  •  '|*|    ^  _^^     '        *||/LI 
jnmi)s,  but  a  slow  and  gradual  pro-  '  > 

gressioii.       Many    pictogr.iphs    are 
mt-rely    representations   of  natural 
objects  and  had  no  special   signifi- 
cince.  others  were  guide  marks  to    r.  s.  Hu.  r.th. 
sjirings,    others   recorded    visits   to       ,  ,..,k,„;i  vnis  mntmn  r  ku,  k. 
certain  localities.      Mallery  states  a  .n.^ui  m  akoi  in  \ 

])articularly    interesting   fact,     that 

within  "  each  particular  system  .  .  .  every  Indian  draws  in 
precisely  tlie.same  manner."  Therefore,  if  a  perfect  understanding 
of  eacli  tribal  system  is  obtained,  the  various  rock  markings  and 
otlier  pictogr.'iphs  can  be  classified.  Sometimes  framls  '  have  brcii 
attempted  b\-  white  men,  one  well  known  case  being  wh-jre  an 
Illinois  blacksmith  copied  on  six  copper  ]ilates  designs  from  a 
Chinese  tea-box,  and  then  claimed  that  the  plates  had  been  fouml 
in  a  mound.  Recently  a  most  ingenious  counterfeiter  of  .stone 
implements  was  discovered  in  Dane  County,  Wis.  He  had  been 
Selling  the  .spurious  iiii])le!uents  for  >ears.  The\-  are  usuall\  of 
biz.irre  patterns."  Piandelier  savs  that  "  it  is  certain  that  some  of 
At  N'L'Wiirk,  Ohio,  :i  hiisiiicss  wiis  ciirrii'd  on  in  the-  niuuuiaclurc  ol 
iiisiril)U(l  stones,  buried  and  diij?  up  to  suit  occasion. 

Sec  "  .\    Kcinaik;il)l>    Counterfeiter  "  by  A,  }•'..  Jeiiks,   .1  nicrictiii  .hi' 
'hK'f>nl(<i^isf,  .\pril-JuiK-,  n/ti). 


{ 

'    I 


M] 


.     ■, 


Il 


■      3 


t   ■  « 


'  I 


;o 


The    Xorth-AiTKM'icans  of  Ycst(;r(lav 


a  i  1.  s  ® 


a  ::) 


0 


0  ^1   S   -^^ 

I.  I  M  N  II 

(D  d)  ©  ^  S  i:  f 


them  [pictojj^raplis  in  Mexico]  were  manufactured  after  the  Con- 
fjuest,  not  with  the  niteiilion  of  fraud,  but  with  a  view  to  a  com- 
l)roniise  between  the  new  method  of  recordiiii?  and  tlie  old  one, 
which  the  new  teacliers  were  loatli  U>  conipreliend  and  which  tliey 
refused  to  adopt."  Powel)  chissifies  all  the  picture-writings  as: 
(i)  Mnemonic  ^  souths,  traditions,  treaties,  war,  and  time;  (:;) 
Notification  —  departure,  direction,  condition,  warnin<,^  j^uidance, 
geoj;raphic  features,  claim  or  demand  messai;cs,  and  connnunica- 

tions  and  record 
of  expeditions  ; 
(  3  )  Totemic  — 
tribal,  gentile, 
clan,  nnd  per- 
sonal desiiiia- 
tions,  insignia, 
tokens  of  au- 
thority, personal 
names,  property 
marks,  status  of 
i  n  d  i  V  i  d  u  a  1  s, 
signs  of  partic- 
ular ac  h  i  e  V  e- 
ments  ;  (4)  Ke- 
li'^ious —  •-iivthic 
person  a  g  e  s , 
s  h  a  m  a  n  i  s  m  , 
d  a  n  c  e  s  ,  cere- 
monies, mortuary  j^ractices,  grave-posts,  charms,  fetiches:  15) 
Customs,  habits  ;  (6)  Tribal  history  ;  (7)  Hiographic. 

On  this  continent  no  true  alphabet,  so  far  as  now  known,  was 
produced,  uidess  we  accept  that  recorded  b\-  liishop  Landa.  and 
ascribed  ^)  the  Mayas.  Landa  was  the  second  bishop  of  Yucatan, 
and  he  (V,d  his  best  to  destrox  tlie  Maya  records  and  everything 
else  that  in  his  estimation  linked  them  with  tlie  devil.  lUit  he 
did  construct  an  alphabet  after  theirs,  for  the  purpose,  no  donl)t, 
of  putting  before  them  the  Holy  C.ospel,  and  it  is  this  alphabet 
that  has  been  preserved.  It  has  l)een  the  basis  of  many  vain  at- 
tempts to  decipher  the  few  ancient  .Maya  documents  that  are 
known,  and  the  failure  of  these  attempts  has  caused  some  investi- 
gators to  consider  the  alphabet  a  pure  fiibrication,  but  the  i 


Kl 


IIA 


mIj  ..I  .1/ 


o-H-o 

Itllf.  H|<>   I 


^ 


n 


III 


>-i  ■„  .,i 
\-i  '1 1. 


\Mi  A 


M  A\   \     M.IIIAIir.l'    AI-TIK    Ilk  \SSI  I  K 
Iriiiii  I!. nil  roll's  NiitiTc  /C,i<cx 


itity 


•5) 

was 

ami 

ilan, 

il  hf 

)Ulil, 

ial)L-t 
n  at- 
l  are 
•csti- 
Mility 


Picturc-WritiiiLr  —  Siirn-LaiV'iKiirc  —  Wanipuin      ^  i 

of  the  characters  with  many  of  those  in  the  ancient  writing;"  com- 
pletely clispro\'es  this  charge.  Hesides  the  alphal)et,  Landa  left 
some  other  information  concerning  the  Mayas,  and  Goodman  thns 
presents  his  respects  to  his  memory  '  :  "  It  is  u  signal  instance  of 


■nthllirll       W.iJ»l:  rhllt  lrhi|<l.«,i  4t 

Oar  FillKr  la  hrK'r.  prilol  x'^r  Ikr 

nib      ^    etfc:     J      2(^=^ 

[m  rrtpcf  tf  tl      In  licavfn         tout  nu/  grttat  t^iA 

nrniiiltk  ul.-.t.fhlnm.      NMH         » ij"!.  'I- 1>  tlik.  I -Ik 

ti)>i»  111  ajjln;.       lli.m       Inli'ti'li  at  lU  lU  iil  ul»I« 

kiplaok  *.«  .Ueli.lek 

Bar         w  b«  oIhi.'.I 

M--C^;         2     ii     ^    ;v£; 

rrliffiii.'-iifl 
It  In  ilir  Mine  naftBt'r 

kUniMiklMli 

alwlumdiilk      rip    V>l    nlikim  •blkrWllal*         Owriililrk 

>TC  affct'lc'l  n  u>    llMia    O  a<al  tit{if  mir  rmllt 

k°lr|*ll«ri 
U  hll 


PQ 


paimak'"!/**!*"'  rflicmi.-riul  nftrh  nr:.-!  ck      Vifl.l..>.k 

jmkua  fc»' t" '""'"'"'"""'' """"•'""     ''*•'  ""*  <iil>f 

dli-UiiHMikleck         firn*  ;:M<in<-n\i  in      httikiirfi ;  itv-U  NlHl.rliiL<  ilvlitk 
|lTa  tt             »tir  nuiiriJiaM-Rt       Iwut;  wv  rKi;tM' ili-**^ 


nKlirRlRHwV  wiwcliail.l  ma  klriallnn.       k^.i.alinil.l 

k*Ma<<(i««2         ^rlkrt1l>.l  t,*.  I'WI  kr.  !•  <«  frw"  at 


vlnrlilfaal  lavktvlb 

aal«rta«ra  attk 

V .  s.  Itii.  I- til. 


NMtll'Uk. 


I'AC-^IMIl.l-;    <)1'     Tlir.    I.(>Uh->    II;\NIU     IN     \II(  MAC    1 1 1 1  KDC  I  \  I  IIS 

rroMi  l,i:  CUtch 

the  irony  of  fate  that  this  Uigoted  destroyer  of  the  frnits  of  Ma\a 
science  and  art  —  the  pietist  whose  zeal  rendered  him  a\id  of  llie 
obliteration  of  every  vestige  of  their  iinpions  learning  si.  mill 
have  been  the  oidy  one  to  leave  a  cine  by  which  the  mysteiinin* 
codices  and  inscriptions  will  yet  be  deciphertMl.     Nevertheless  iie 

'J.  T.  (iooiluiaii,  liiolojiia  ('rntrii/i  .Itn,  i  uuHit,  pari  i.\.,  p.  ii. 


'II 


A 


ill 


twmm 


KfB 


'■I  ' 


,11 

I 
(  I 

I 

•     i 


z,2  The   North-Americans  of  Yesterday 

left  such  a  clue— slight  and  vague,  it  is  true  ;  but,  when  carefully 
followed  up,  it  broadens  and  leads  into  an  open  way  where  every- 
thing  will   presently   become  self-evident."     The  alphabet  was 


•r^ — -—■■—' ■—'                ■ — .— 1. 

— 1 

Id. 

R. 

T^ 

^0 

C^, 

• 

$...       Oa* 

M^HC- 

K- 

-im.^^ 

♦J../" 

E. 

«R 

i.. 

J3hi 

IV 

Mau 

vjir.; 

Wu 

(ft. 

f» 

Ci, 

M. 

^., 

KMnu 

Hn<- 

^. 

\.Wnu.        \mhr<A      X^liJh 

JY^ 

h. 

JTiio 

41 

c^„ 

kftj  V"U. 

u),.. 

ij*:-.: 

w%F^«« 

C>  •ii'i' 

15.-   i^s 

4.,. 

b. 

*, 

C/u 

Rv^ 

1.    V^ 

Jf<tr         %^rt 

•<1^    •Ma 

A. 

JS^a 

(^,.  \ 

J5j;l     jLj(/j 

M^ii' 

C. 

Tpi. 

^... 

V 

0".i 

T. 

Ir» 

J\.Cr« 

CJtr^ 

\j^^<^- 

1 

a. 

4lf. 

O. 

<L5.. 

«,. 

6.. 

3. 

.^.- 

Ml^o 

CT. 

B ,,. ' 

Soumls  ii'pri'brntcil  liwonrls. 

n  "T   n  in  fi_ 
€  Its   ii  in   J^ 

f>-rf  i-r  t».  rt  ,is  n  i:i  rmlt         i'  as  .l»  in  l.m-  ,r  shcrt  as  c 
/i     €' .\ii,Tt  lis  <  in  V't           u   lU  !<£  in  JijJ  1  r  shcrt  uj  a 

mn  'J s  twy.a^t  in 

FntfUsh. 
m  mli'i  It, 

1 

V.  S.  Itu.  I-tli. 

SliM-i  >Y  Ml'- 

(  111  KiiKKK    S 

^■I.I.AIIAKY 

probal)ly  niodifit-d  by  a  desire  ^^  make  it  conform  to  the  Spanish, 
and  it  is  this  foreign  element  possibly  that  has  led  to  the  unfav(mr- 
able  opinion  expressed  in  some  quarters  concL-rning  it. 

North  of  the  Mexican  country  -ertain  alphabets  were  invented 
bv  tile  ICnropean  iiric-sts  for  the  purpose  of  furthering  the  inlro- 


.1 


Picliinj-WriliiiLi  —  Si!'ii-i.iin«':iu^':(.' 

i>  <^  »^  o 


\\'aiiii)Uin     53 


(luctioti  of  Christianity  amoti^  the  Aincriiuls.  Of  these  tlie  Mic- 
inac  is  a  j^ood  example.'  They  were  not  drawn  from  pictoj^raphs, 
and  were  used  onl>'  for  teachinj;  the  liible.  In  that  ficUl  they 
dill  not  serve  to  preserve  Amerind  history,  traditions,  and  lej^envls. 
After  Ion;,;  contact  with  ICuropeans  there  was  invented  hut  one 
alphabet,  and  he  who  accom[)lished  this  was  a  half-breed.  In 
1S21,  (icorj^e  (list  (or  (lUess),  whose  native  name  was  vSeipioyah, 
a  Cherokee,  who  s[)f)ke  little  if  any  Ivnj^lish,  but  whose  father  was 
a  Dutch  peddler  and  whose  mother  was  of  mixeil  blood,  produced 
an  alphabet,  or,  more  correctly  speaking,  a  s\ll  ibary,  which  was 
inunediately  adopted  by  his  tribe,  and  enabled  them  to  record 
their  traditions,  .sacred  formuhe,  prayers,  etc.,  whicli  to-da\-  form 
a  valuable  portion  of  the  information  we  possess  of  thesL-  Ame- 
rind people.  Many  of  the  synd)ols  were  adapted  from  our  alpha- 
bet, an  old  spellin*;-book  liavini^  found  its  way  into  Se([U()>airs 
hands,  but  it  was  the  forms  which  were  utilised,  the  sounils  they 
represented  beiniL;;  usually  different.  15y  means  of  this  sylbdxiry 
the  mend)ers  of  the  Cherokee  tril)e  were  able  to  learn  in  a  few 
hours  to  write  words,  and  the  system  is  used  to  this  day. 

The  endeavour  to  prove  the  descent  of  the  Amerinds  from  one 
of  tlie  numerous  foreii;n  .sources  that  ha\-e  from  time  to  time  bi-cn 
advocated  has  at  least  resulted  .sometimes  in  tlie  accumulation  or 
reproduction  of  .some  interestini;  inah-rial.  T,ord  Kini;sboroui;li 
became  so  infatuated  with  the  idea  that  the  Amerinds  were  the  Lost 
Tiil)es  of  Israel  that  he  attemjited  to  prove  it  in  a  number  of  splen- 
did volumes,  which  also  co'itaii:  ..ilmiraljle  facsimiles  of  some  oKi 
.Vmerinil  manuscripts.'  He  spent  iiis  fortune  on  this  work,  and 
throui^h  a  business  dispute  with  the  merchants  who  furnished  the 
paper  he  was  thrown  into  Dublin  J  lil,  where,  unfortunately,  he 
died. 

To  explain  the  methods  emploveil  in  the  ruder  attempts  at  re- 
cordini,^  the  map  made  b\'  Lean  Wolf,  a  Hi.lalsa,  who  once  made 
.1  trip  fro  :i  I'\)rt  Herthold  to  I-'ort  Muford,  Dakota,  with  the  aml.'i- 
tion  of  stealini;  a  horse,  is  a  i^ood  example.  In  the  illustration  the 
returning  hor.se-tracks  indicate  ih  it  he  was  successful  and  rode 

'The  Sauk,  oi  Alj^oiujuiaii  slock,  "liavi-  a  syllabic  alpli.ilut,  ;i])]) mnlly 
the  work  of  some  early  I'rench  inissionaiy,  liy  means  of  whieii  they  keep  ii|) 
a  eorrespomleiioe  with  friends  oti  their  various  scalli-reil  reservations." 
—  Mooney,  .1  i/iirudii  ,///////('/)('/({i,'/\/,  January,  1S91),  p.  i|;,. 

'  I'or  nti  explanation  of  tin-  I,o-t  I'rihes  throrv  see  I'ayne's  ///vA'/ '  ,</ 
///<•  Xiw  U'liild  (\tUid  .  hiiriiiti,  vol.  ii.,  p.  75  1'  ^k/. 


r*^ 


2    i 


-'  .  i 


54 


The   Norlh-Aiiicricaiis   ol    W-stcnlay 


home.  I  is  Li-aii  Wolf  liimself  ;  2,  the  Ilidatsa  lodges  ;  3,  Lean 
Wolfs  tracks  011  his  outward  coiirsL-  ;  4,  j^overnment  buildings  at 
Fort  lUilbrd  ;  5,  several  Ilidatsa  lodges  whose  occupants  intermar- 
ried with  Dakotas  ;  f),  Dakota  tijns:  7,  small  s(iuare.  a  white  man's 
home,  with  a  cross  indicating  that  he  had  married  a  Dakota 
woman  ;  S,   horse-tracks  ;  y,  the  Missouri  River  and  tributaries. 


u.  s.  r.u.  Kth, 


1.1    \N     U  iil.l-  S    MAP,     Mill  \  1  -\ 


^QC 


^D:)o\^'/^c^O 


l*"re(iuently  the  marks  on  the  rocks  merely  record  the  visit  of 
someone  to  the  place,  exactly  as  when  we  visit  the  birthplace  of 
Shakespeare  we  write  our  names  in  a  large  book  kept  there  for 
that  purpose  ;  or,  j^erhaps,  as  some  persons  carve  their  names  on 
public  buildings  and  in  other  con^]ucuous  places.      Gilbert  found 
a   number  of  such   records  at  Oakley  .Sprir.gs,    Arizona,   and  old 
Tuba,  a  Moki,  explained  them  to  him.     Tuba  said  that  the  Mokis 
go  to  a  jilace  in  the  canyon  of  tlic  Little  Colorado  for  .salt,  and 
they  .stop  on  the  return  trip  at  this  .spring,  where  each  draws  liis 
totem  mark,  or  crest,  on  the  record  rocks  once,  and  once  onl> ,  for 
each  trip.     There  are  many  rej^etitions  of  the  same  .sign,  .showing 
that  the  owner  of  that  particular  sign,  or  totem,  had  made  that 
many  journeys  to   the   salt   miuf.     Tuba  gave  the  name  of  the 
totems,  and  they  were  all  animals. 

One  caniuit  be   too  careful   in  lakltlg  stittUliiL;ilts  from  Ame- 


t( 

ai 


cl' 


1; 


Pictun^-WritiiiL;-  —  Sioii-Lani^iia^L,^; —  W'aiiipu 


m 


?:^ 


rinds,  for,   like  soiiil-  of  lliL-ir  wliile  hrethrcn,  many  of  them  will 
lie  for  the  fun  of  it,  or  jnst  to  experiment  as  to  the  probable  re- 


sult. 


vSonietnnes, 


r 


too,  when  they  are 
telling-  the  truth 
tlie\-  tell  onh-  j)art 
of  it.  This  is  par- 
ticularly the  case 
with  regard  to 
springs,  sacred 
rites,  and  other 
matters   which   are 

specially  cherished.  '■■"•  "' '•'■^■'^'  '  ^^•\^"'"^'  '"■'■'■ 

vSome  oi)jects  in  the  custody  of  the  heads  of  the  .secret  orders  are 
never  shown  in  public,  or  are  only  shown  on  special  occa.sions. 
Pictographs  repre.senting  them,  therefore,  .should  any  happen  to 
be  made,  would  not  be  intelligible  to  any  persons  but  the  initiated. 
Another  class  of  symbols  was  worked  out  in  wampum.  The 
l)opular  idea  of  wampum  seems  to  be  that  it  was  a  kind  of  Amerind 
money,  but  the  money  function  was  only  one  of  its  u.ses.     There 

was  another,  a  mnemonic  use,  of  more  im- 
portance— that  is,  it  was  a  means  of  record- 
ing and  of  comnuuiicating  nniemonically 
;'mong  the  tril)es  of  the  North-ea.st.  The 
Iroquois  used  it  chiefly  in  the  form  of  belts. 
The  beads  were  generally  white,  and  were 
used  in  strings  as  well  as  belts,  other  colours 
being  mingled  with  the  white,  as  purple  and 
white,  or  black  and  white.  These  strings 
had  important  functions  in  sunnnoning  ofll- 
cers,  in  representing  persons,  and  in  confer- 
ling  authority.  But  all  wampum  had  a 
meaning  only  to  tho.se  who  remembered  the 
particular  association  of  particular  forms  of 
it,  and  the  knowledge  once  entirely  for- 
gotten could  never  be  regained.  Conse- 
quentl\-  the  ideas  with  which  tlie  belts,  etc. , 
were  as.sociated  had  to  be  regularly  brought 
to  mind.  Once  a  year,  therefore,  they  were  exhibited  in  public, 
and  the  storv  connected  with  each  carefullv  rehearsed  .so  that  it 


i 

ill 


% 


/t 


r.  S.  Ilu.  F.th. 
MKIMIS    (>V    WAMITM 


|1 


'.  .. 

J  ^^" 

*  :| 

n 


1  '    'I 


\ 


If 


56 


I  lie   Norlh-Anuricaiis  of  W'slcrday 


should  not  he  lost  throii};h  for^'ctfuliiL'ss.  This  custom  is  still  kept 
up  anion^  the  rcinuants  of  the  Wiuupuni-usiuj;  tril)es.  In  other 
trihes,  fornuiUeancl  drawiiigs  were  often  preserved  l)y  certain  orders 
who  relie;irsed  thetn  in  the  privacy  of  the  kiva.  The  wanipuin 
1)!;ads  were  ijenerall>-  i  inch  by  {  inch  diameter—  that  is,  tlat 
discs  of  shell.     They  were  sometimes  also  !  to  .',  inch  thick    with 


r.  s.  r.ii.  Kih. 


i)KC\    UK     Kill  I.K-WII  \l  I      IHCoi;  \1  MiN-       |1\|M\ 


the  same  diameter.  When  the  white  men  discovered  the  valuation 
the  Amerinds  placed  on  these  beads  an  attempt  was  made  to  intro- 
duce .some  of  luiropean  mamifacture.  but  it  met  with  only  partial 
success.'  The  avera.ne  width  of  a  belt  is  three  inches  and  the 
leui^th  three  feet. 

By  .scjine  tribes  the  hmnan  body  was  also  used  as  a  surface  for 
the  display  of  pictographs.  Among  all  primitive  people  the  ]Hn\y 
has  been  often  decorated  to  a  greater  or  less  extent  by  means  of 
IMgments  or  by  tattooing,  and  even  to-day  the  practice  lingers 
among  civilised  races,  in  their  sailors  and  soldiers  especialh-.  The 
l)rimitive  totem  or  tattoo  marks  are  fre(|uently  highly  elaborate, 
but  the  work  is  not  all  accomplished  at  one  time.     Years  some 

'  I'inally,  after  1714,  the  tuachiiie-niade  heads  j^^rew  in  favour,  Ijecausetlie 
supi)ly  of  native  beads  dimiiiislieil  witli  llie  dimimUiou  of  tlie  iiuiiiher  (,( 
Aiuorinds.  These  niachine-tiia<K'  beads  were  of  niiironu  size,  while  llie 
native  l)eads  varied  coiisideral)ly.  See  Horatio  Hale,  J'o/>,  Sti.  Monlhly, 
Fel)ruary,  1S97. 


tor 


oi 


.TS 

file 
le, 


1*-' 


Itlu 


Itlu- 


n 


u.  s.  r.u  Kill. 


II  Mil  \      I  A  I   I'HiINC 


57 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


1.0 


I.I 


[f  IM  IIIM 

•^  1^    ill  2.2 

1.8 


1.25      1.4      1.6 

^ 

6"     

► 

VI 


Va 


m. 


-r  ^  "Or  ^'^ 


^v 


jSs.. 


^. 


7: 


y 


Photographic 

Sciences 
Corporaiion 


2?  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

W:isSTER,N.Y.  14580 

(716)  872-4503 


I 


6^ 


( 


L 


il 


;8 


The   North-Americans  of  Yesterday 


it; 


U  i  i''; 


limes  pass  btifore  tlie  drawings  are  complete.  The  Haidas  of  the 
X(jrth-\vest  coast  are  specially  given  to  this  form  of  decoration,  and 
th'Jr  bodies  bear  carefully  prepared  symlwls.  They  are  heraldic 
signs,  or  the  family  tctem,  of  the  clan  to  which  the  person  belongs. 
Pottery  was  also  a  medium,  and  some  of  the  designs  contained 
upon  earthenware  unfold  a  whole  legend  to  the  knowing  eye  of 
llie  native.  The  designs  that  are  woven  into  blankets,  baskets, 
and  scarfs  of  Amerind  manufacture  are  also,  to  a  certain  extent, 
sNinbolic.  The  Navajos,  who  weave  a  superior  kind  of  blanket, 
put  into  it  a  variety  of  designs,  that  are  carried  entirely  in  their 
memor}'.  It  is  asserted  that  the  majority  of  these  designs  are 
Pueblo.  The  Navajos  no  doubt  absorbed  many  of  the  Pueblos, 
who  must  have  ijeen  in  the  country  they  now  occupy-  when  they 
arrived.  There  is  some  intermarriage  of  Navajos  and  Mokis  in 
these  latter  days.' 

Everything  the  Amerind  does  pertains  to  his  religious 
belief,  and  these  symbols,  totems,  and  pictures  play  an  im- 
portant part  in  his  life.  Some  sign  or  token  occurs  on 
almost  everv  article  of  his  manufacture. 


' 'rm-:  man   in   jiii-;  moon  comi'.s  down" 


Ivxcellent  examples  of  Algonquin  mnemonic  records  are  found 
in  the  songs  of  the  Mide  society,  which  have  been  preserved 
for   many    generations  by  means  of  their    picture-writing,    and 

'  "The  l)est  blanket-makers,  smiths,  and  other  artisans  among  the 
Navajos  are  the  descendants  of  captives  from  Zufii  and  other  ruel)los." — 
J.  (r.  IJourke, /()///-.  .*/;«.  Folk~Lort\  p.  115. 


Picture-Writinir  —  Sii^ni-Languay^e  —  Wampum      59 

some  of  the  records  are  exceedingly  elaborate.  The  method 
is  to  associate  certain  devices  with  songs  or  with  parts  of 
songs  to  recall  the  words  to  the  memory  of  the  singer  when  he 
beholds  the  pictures,  and  in  this  way  they  have  been  handed 
along  through  the  centuries.  There  is  reason  to  believe  that 
almost  all  important  legends  are  recorded  in  this  mnemonic  way 
among  the  tribes  of  North  America.  Of  course  the  memory  is 
likely  to  fail  in  some  d-^tails  and  so  the  songs  become  more  or  less 
changed  as  time  goes  on,  but  it  is  not  probable  that  the  changes 
are  of  much  importance,  for  where  the  memory  is  trained  in  this 
way  it  grows  remarkably  accurate.  There  was  much  practi.sing 
of  the  various  songs  at  each  particular  season,  under  the  guidance 
of  some  veteran  singer. 

The  Eskimo,  in  their  picture-writing,  seem  now  to  l)e  rather  a 
class  by  themselves.  Whether  the  suggestion  of  perspective 
found  in  some  pictures  was  a  result  of  contact  with  the  whites  I 
am  unable  to  state,  but  it  seems  probable.  In  the  above  illus- 
tration the  suggestion  of  perspective  is  clear.  There  is  a  land- 
scape with  houses,  with  the  moon  in  the  sky,  and  with  a  perfecth' 
evident  effort  to  make  the  foreground  and  middle  and  background 
take  their  proper  places.  Such  a  thing  is  not  to  be  found  through- 
out all  the  other  Amerind  stocks. 

From  Alaska  come  some  good  examples  of  the  ideographic,  by 
way  of  San  Franci.sco,  where  one  Xaumoff,  an  Alaskan  native, 
made  them.  They  are  written  on  strips  of  wood  and  placed  in 
conspicuous  places  as  notifications. 


-^M 


V.  S.  I  ill.  Kth. 


'rill.- irregular  line  iiulicatos  thecontcuir  of  tlie  couiitry.  'I'lie  traveller  is  seen  startiiiu;  i>iit  at 
the  left.  He  i(resently_  leaves  a  stick  with  a  Imnch  (if  .urass  t(i  slmw  (iirertiiin,  . mil  stops  with  a 
friend  at  ni;.'ht-  the  divisiciii  of  days  reiiresented  liy  a  line  upright,  .\c.\t  morning,  on  ttie  second 
hill,  he  discovers  game,  etc. 

vSome  tribes  have  a  system  of  enumerating  the  members  of  it 
and  keeping  a  kind  of  clan  roll.  Chief  Big  Road,  a  Dakota,  was 
one  day  brought  to  the  agency  and  required  to  give  an  account  of 
his  followers.  He  submitted  a  roster,  made  on  common  foolscap 
paper  with  black  and  coloured  pencils.  The  names,  repre.sented 
by  pictures,  were  Big  Bear,   Bear-looking-behind,    Bring.s-back- 


k 


'A 


\f 


\      i 


1, 


r  'I 


II    J 


i   !, 


■II     ^'-  ^ 


^hi_i 


i  ' 


I-' 


i   "' 


■U 


60 


The   North-Americans  of  Yesterday 


Plenty,  Wliite  Buffalo,  and  soon.  This  is  also  an  example  of  the 
ideographic.  Red  Cloud  had  a  similar  census  of  his  warriors.  It 
was  prepared  under  his  supervision  at  the  Pine  Ridge  Agency. 
Owing  to  some  disagreement,  the  agent  had  refused  to  recogni.se 
Red  Cloud's  leadership  and  named  another  man  as  chief.  There- 
upon the  adherents  of  Red  Cloud  prepared  this  document,  and 
sent  it  to  Washington  to  establish  his  claim.  Tiie  names  pic- 
torially  represented  are  Shield-Bear,  Sees-the-Enemy,  Biting- 
Bear,  Cut-through,  Red  Owl,  etc. 


178S-8) 


1 780- go 


U.  S.  I'm.  Kth. 

Sl'F.ClMENS    OK    TIIK.    DAKo'l'A    WINTKR    CorNTS 

Dates  determined  by  counting  back  from  great  events 

The  left:    1788-89.    Very  severe  winter.    Crows  were  frozen  to  death.    "  Many-crows-died-winter" 

Middle:    1780-03.     Two  Mandans  Icilled  by  the  Minneconjous 

Right:    1790-gi.     "  All-the-Indians-see-the-flag-winter" 

In  this  .same  line  are  the  Dakota  winter  counts  collected  by 
Dr.  Corbusier.  The  years  are  counted  bj^  winters,  as  the  winter 
among  the  Dakotas  makes  the  deepest  impression.  The.se  records 
have  been  kept  for  many  years  and  are  used  in  computing  time 
and  to  aid  the  memory  in  recalling  names  and  events  of  different 
years.  The  enumeration  is  begun  at  the  winter  last  recorded  and 
carried  backward.  There  are  at  least  five  of  these  counis  kept 
among  the  Oglalas  and  Tkules  by  different  men.' 

From  the  manuscript  drawing-book  of  an  Amerind  pri.soner  at 
St.  Augustine  we  have  a  "  conversation  "  about  the  las.sooing, 
slijoting,  and  final  killing  of  a  bison  which  had  wandered  into 
camp.  "  The  dotted  lines  indicate  footprints.  The  Indian  drawn 
under  the  animal  having  .secured  it  by  the  forefeet,  so  informs  his 
companions,  as  indicated  by  the  line  drawn  from  his  mouth  to  the 
object  mentioned.  The  left-hand  figure,  having  secured  the 
buffalo  by  the  horns,  gives  his  nearest  comrade  an  opportunity  to 
.strike  it  with  an  axe,  which  he  no  doubt  announces  that  he  will 
do,  as  the  line  from  his  mouth  to  the  head  of  the  animal  indicates. 
The  Indian  in  the  upper  left-hand  corner  is  told  by  a  squaw  to 
take  au  arrow  and  join  his  companions,  when  he  turns  his  head 
'  Garrick  Mallery,  Fourth  Ann.  Rcpt.  Bu.  Eth. 


f  ti      I    I.! 


Picture-W'ritino-  _  Si<.-n-L 


aiiLTuaL-'t 


W 


U,  S,  Ru,  Eth. 


KII.1,|\(.    A    ;;]>,, N 

on  the   ,  „,,  ^ --'or  vai:;r:,t..?'i;-,:ir.: 

'  ^^lallery,  /-i;;,;.//,  ^;,;,.  ^^^^  ^^^   /..^^^  ^''  ^^^^  designs 

^'//;!?«  7t   Th"?'"  "^'r^'"  ''^'  ^^'-^'"^o»  Matthews, /^///,  .^,;, 


w. 


"'V 


tlj 


'I  ;  '. 


•\'<i 


;■ 


! 


i    -1  < 


it 


■; « 


■; 

i- 

■  ■ 

,' 

1  : 

i 

^ 

i  ..    - 

t 

il  - 

f       ;       ' 

1      • 

1      ♦ 

• 

b                              > 

1*        i." 

i 

62 


The   North-Americans  of  YcstLTchiy 


are  made  with  the  utmost  care  and  precision,  being  drawn  accord- 
ing to  an  exact  sj-stem,  except  in  minor  points,  where  the  artist  is 
left  to  his  imagination.  So  far  as  known  this  system  is  not  re- 
corded in  any  way,  but  depends  entirely  on  the  memory  of  tliose 
ir  charge.     Changes  must  therefore  occur  in  the  course  of  time. 


U.  S.  r.u.  Kth. 


After  l)r.  Jnnes 


SIIKI.I,    DISC,     ri-.NNKSSKE 
Diameter,  4.4  inches 


The  sand  is  trailed  out  of  the  hand  l^etween  the  thumb  and  fore- 
finger, and  when  a  mistake  is  made  it  is  corrected  by  renewing  at 
that  point  the  surface  of  the  sand  which  forms  the  general  ground 
for  the  work.  No  less  than  seventeen  ceremonies  are  illustrirted 
by  drawings  of  this  kind.  Sand  enters  into  some  of  the  kiva 
ceremonies  of  the  Aloki,  but  in  a  different  way.  It  is  used  more 
to  maintain  in  position  certain  objects  that  belong  to  the  ritual. 


■I  H 


Picture-WritiiiL;- 


Sij^n-L.'uimiai^c  —  Wampum      b^ 


1 ; 


The  inoinuls  of  the  Mississippi  valley  have  yielded  aiitiqiiiiit.'s 
of  great  interest,  hut  thus  far  nothing  that  is  heyond  the  al)ilil\ 
of  the  ordinary  Amerind  to  execute.  vSonie  shell  discs,  which 
Holmes  suggests  may  have  been  time  symbols,  attract  special 
attention.  There  are  generally  thirteen  small  outer  circles  on 
the  discs,  and  thirteen  is  a  number  that  occurs  fre(iuentl_\-  in 
Amerind  chronology.  On  other  discs  various  objects  are  drawn, 
the  one  first  to  fix  the  attention  of  the  white  race  being  ihu 
figure  of  the  cross  l)ecause  of  its  connection  with  the  Christian 
religion.  But  it  had  no  similar  significance  with  the  Christian 
cross.  Crosses  were  found  among  almost  all  the  tribes  of  Xi^rth 
America,  because  a  cross  is  an  easy  and  a  most  natural  figure 
to  construct.  Another  eml)lem  found  throughout  the  world,  and 
next    to   the   cro.ss   the  simplest    figure  to   make,   is  that  called 

the  swastika,  merely  a  cross  M— i  with  the  arms  broken  at  right 

angles.  The  Mormons  firndy  believe,  along  with  Kingsborough, 
that  the  Amerinds  are  the  Lost  Tril)es  of  Israel,  and  one  of  their 
elders  has  succeeded  in  translating  some  picture-writing  thus  : 
"  /,  Malia)iti,  the  2nd  kino-  of  the  LaDtmiitcs  in  five  valleys  in  the 
inoiDitains,  make  this  rceord  in  the  t-urlve  hundredth  year  sinee  7ee 
ea/ne  out  of  Jcrusalent.  And  I  have  three  sons  i^one  to  the  south 
eountry  to  live  bv  huntin<^  antelope  and  deer.''  Like  the  power  to 
divine  the  future,  the  power  to  translate  picture-writings  is  rare. 

In  some  of  the  Moutidbuilder  work  there  is  a  suggestion  of  a 
position  for  the  makers  intermediate  between,  .say,  the  Algonquin 
and  the  Nahuatl  or  Aztec  tribes.  Their  serpent  symbols  strongly 
resemble  those  of  more  southern  tribes,  and  also  .some  of  the  fig- 
ures in  shell  and  copper. 

The  fact  that  the  serpent  was  a  prominent  object  with  them  as 
with  the  Nahuatl  tribes  tends  to  link  the  tribes  who  made  these 
.symbols  with  the  Nahuatl  tribes.  The  serpent  symbol,  especially 
the  feathered  kind,'  belongs  maiidy  to  the  tribes  of  the  Mexican 
region,  where  the  rattlesnake  exists  in  its  greatest  variety.     Tlie 

■  "  Pictographs  of  the  feathered,  horned  serpent  are  also  found  on  the 
cliff  to  the  south-west  of  Walpi.  These  pictographs  have  the  head,  with 
a  representation  of  a  horn  and  feathers,  and  the  same  conventionalised 
markings  of  parallel  lines  and  arrow-points  which  are  fom  d  on  the  kilts 
of  the  vSnake  priests."— Fewkes,  Journal  of  American  Ethnology,  vol. 
ii.,  p.  38. 


iM' 


■  I 


•-'t 


;  ■ 


..I 

li, 


i  fl  i? 


P 
■I'! 


m 


\\ 


1    (  .!  1 


I':.  I 


f 


11 


I    9 


64 


The   North-Americans  of  Yesterday 


rattlesnake  was  highly  venerated,  and  tribes  as  far  north  as  the 
Moki  country  in  the  West,  and  perhaps  as  the  Ohio  in  the  East, 
might  be  correctly  called  tlie  Snake  people.     There  is  nothing 


\ 


\ 


x 

'■■/     i  /    .■■    l. 

:\:y  ■■■■■:..  \ 
\, ** 


•-..  ■\ 


/ 


,/ 


U.  S,  Bu.  F.th 


SIIK.T.l.    COKGKT,    TKNNESSEK 
Actual  si.re 


improbable  in  supposing  that  some  of  the  tribes  of  the  ^lississippi 
valley,  if  they  were  not  of  the  same  stock  as  the  Aztecs,  were  in 
tolerably  close  communication  with  them,  or  with  tribes  inter- 
mediate between  the  two. 


iC 


\. 


in 


Sio n-Lanj^ua^i^c  —  \\  aiiipum  —  CuppcMl-Stonc^s      65 

Sometimes  there  occur  markint^s  on  the  rocks  in  the  vSouth-wx-st 
that  would  be  a  puzzle  to  us  did  we  not  know,  throui;h  the  Mokis, 
who  are  still  making  them,  just  what  they  are.  There  is  there- 
fore no  room  for  the  imagination  ;  the  Ions?  scrntchiu'^s  are  only 
grooves  made  in  sandstone  by  the  Moki  farmer  sharpening  his 
planting  stick. 


€)  ^ 


e 


cur    MARKINCS 

Another  kind  of  rock  markings,  the  so-called  cupped-stones  or 
cup  markings,  about  which  there  has  been  a  vast  amount  of 
discussion,  may  be  considered  here  because  they  have  generally 
been  thought  to  have  symbolic  significance.  That  some  of  them 
may  have  had  such  significance  is  admitted  below,  but  the  bulk 
of  those  on  this  continent  it  seems  possible  to  explain  without 
resort  to  symbolism.  An  explanation  which  I  offer,  for  what 
it  may  be  worth,  I  have  never  seen  vSUggested,  though  the  idea 
may  not  be  new.  It  is  well  known  that  the  common  form 
of  fire-drill  in  use  from  one  end  of  this  continent  to  the  other 


l-l! 


i't' 


I 

i 


ilr 


'■'■ 

It,!' 

I!-'- 

)|  ■ ' 


66 


The   North-. \iiicricans  of   XCstcrday 


I       ,!. 


•   I      ] 


^ .  i  I 


was  that  in  wliicli  the  eiul  of  a  strai^lit  stick  is  made  to  rotate 
back  and  forth  in  a  rounded  cavity  in  another  slick  of  softer 
wood  called  the  hearth.  In  order  that  the  opL-ration  should  l)e 
speedily  successful  in  producins;-  fire,  it  was  necessary  to  have  the 
end  of  the  drill  convex,  so  that  it  would  immediately  hear  as 
nearly  as  possible  on  the  whole  surface  of  the  hearth  cavity.  In 
order  to  produce  this  convexity,  the  Amerind  pecked  a  small  cav- 
ity on  a  .slab  or  rock  of  sandstone,  and  when  he  luul  it  in  the 
jiroper  condition,  he  could  brinj;  his  drill  very  (juickly  to  the 
desired  convexity,  and  also  j;i\-e  it  a  ronj^hness  of  surface  that 
would  contribute  to  the  friction.  As  the  fire-drill  was  lonn  in 
constant  iise,  man}-  cavities  were  neces.sary,  for  a  cavity  would 
grow  too  deep,  or  for  some  other  cause  would  not  be  adequate. 
A  new  hole  would  then  be  made,  and  thus  in  the  course  of  time 
there  woidd  be  lunidjcrs  of  the  cavities  on  a  rock  or  slab,  which 
was  convenient  or  had  been  found  to  possess  the  right  texture  for 
the  purpose.  My  opinion,  therefore,  is  that  these  so-calle;l  "  cup 
markings  "  or  "  cupped  "  stones  were  in  America  the  result  of  the 
sharpening  of  fire-drills,  just  as  the  long  grooves  .seen  at  the  Moki 
towns  to-day  are  the  result  of  the  .sharpening  of  planting  sticks. 
Cierard  Fowke  describes  the  cupped-stones  in  the  Bureau  of  liih- 
nology  collection,'  as  follows,  and  it  will  be  noticed  that  thin 
pieces  have  cups  on  both  sides,  while  the  large  blocks  have  them 
only  on  one.  This  was  liecause  it  was  convenient  to  turn  tlie  small 
stones  over.  In  some  cases  where  a  cup  had  worn  too  luge,  an- 
other was  .started  in  the  bottom  of  it,  perhaps  because  the  rock  at 
that  particular  spot  suited  the  fancy  of  the  individual.  I'owke 
.says:  "  The  cupped-stones  in  the  Bureau  aie  almost  invariably 
of  reddish  .sandstone,  of  varying  texture,  from  a  few  ounces  to 
thirty  pounds  in  weight.  The  holes  are  from  one  to  twenty-five 
in  luimber,  of  various  sizes,  even  in  the  same  stone,  and  follow 
the  natural  contour  of  the  .surface  even  when  that  is  quite  irregu- 
lar; the  stone  is  never  flattened  or  dressed  to  bring  the  cups  on  a 
level  :  none  show  any  marks  of  work,  but  are  rough  Ijlocks  or 
.slabs  in  their  natural  state.  Many  of  the  holes  are  roughly  pecked 
in,  but  the  larger  ones  are  usually  smooth,  as  if  ground  out,  and 
almo.st  complete  hemispheres.  They  range  from  a  pit  only  started 
or  going  scarcely  beyond  the  .surface  to  one  two  inches  in  diam- 
eter. The  smaller  ones  with  one  cup  pass  into  the  pitted  stones, 
'  Thirteenth  Ann.  Rept.  Bii.  of  Eth.,  p.  92. 


oki 
:kB. 

-:th- 

hin 

IL'IU 
Kill 

aii- 
at 
ke 
)ly 
to 
ve 

()\V 

II- 
11  a 
or 

ed 
lid 
ted 
Hi- 
es. 


Si_L(n-Lan<^uage  —  W  anipiiin  —  Ciippiil-Sioncs      hj 

Occasionally  at  the  hottoiu  of  a  large  cup  there  is  a  small  secoiul- 
ary  hole  as  tlioui;!!  made  by  a  flint  drill.  vSlahs  or  thin  pieces 
nearly  always  have  cups  on  both  sides,  while  locks  or  thick  slabs 
have  them  on  one  side  only." 

In  the  ca.se  of  the  cup  markings  of  the  ICastern  Hemisphere, 
their  fretiuent  peculiar  arrangement  accompaniud  by  grooxes  and 
circles  may  have  pertained  to  .some  ceremony  connected  with  the 
drill-dressing.  It  may  have  been  thouglit  that  the  fire  would  come 
quicker,  be  better,  or  last  longer  when  the  drill  was  dressed  in 
holes  of  a  certain  type  :  or  .special  stones  and  holes  of  peculiar  ar- 
rangement may  have  been  retpiired  for  dressing  the  drill-end  tli.it 
was  to  be  u.sed  by  the  priest  in  the  sacred  ceremony  of  producing 
the  "  new- fire."  In  this  manner  a  primitive  custom  might  become 
sacred  and  be  surrounded  with  symbolism  exemplified  in  cup 
markings  the  world  over 


U.  S.  lui.  luh. 

CUl'    I'KU.M    cniRlU'JI 


Hi 


ii: 


II  '■, 


r.\ 


I' 


1 

•      L 

1 

1 

(■ 


T 


4 


'^1 


U.  S.  Uti.  Kth. 

TKKRA    Curi'A    l-KO.M    tlllKK)!! 


CHAPTER   IV 

THE   MEXICAN   AND   CKXTRAL-AMKRICAN   WRITING,    INSCRIP- 
TION'S,   AND    BOOKS 

WHILE  there  are  found  in  the  mounds  of  the  central  Mis- 
sissippi region,  and  also  among  the  living  natives  of  the 
North-west  coast,  resemblances  to  the  art  work  of  the 
Aztecs,  Maj-as,  and  other  triJjes  of  the  Central-American  region, 
there  is  no  evidence  that  there  was  any  approach,  in  these  local- 
ities or  elsewhere,  to  anj-  kind  of  record  to  be  compared  with  the 
proficienc}'  of  the  South.  What  there  may  once  have  been  in 
the  way  of  writings  on  bark  or  wood  we  can  only  conjecture.  The 
Davenport  tablet  has  been  pronounced,  on  good  authority,  to 
be  within  the  powers  of  the  Dakota  tribes.  Other  tablets  and 
inscriptions  of  the  Eastern  region  are  surrounded  with  doubt. 
Tlie  Mexican,  that  is,  the  Aztec,  writing  was  more  pictorial 
than  that  of  the  Mayas.  It  was  cruder  in  every  way,  and  com- 
paring the  two  in  the  pages  of  Kingsborough  and  later  reproduc- 
tions, it  is  easy  to  distinguish  a  superior  culture  indicated  by  the 
writing  of  the  Maya.  We  are  more  fortunate  in  the  number  of 
Aztec  manuscripts  preserved.  The  Spanish  priests  did  what  they 
could  to  obliterate  the  books  existing  when  they  came  into  the 
country,  and  Bishop  Zumarraga  made  a  fine  bonfire  out  of  a  lot 
of  them.    But  some  escaped.    Some  priests  sent  copies  or  originals 

68 


1 


1011, 

cal- 
the 
in 
ll'he 
to 
nd 
,ibt. 
ial 
ni- 
ne- 
the 
of 
ey 
the 
lot 
mis 


Mexican   and   CtMitral   American   '.Vritiiii;-,    ICic.    69 

hack  home  as  ctiriosities,  thinking,  donhtlcss,  that  this  took  them 
ont  of  the  si^lit  of  the  natixes  (niittj  as  cffcctnallx'  as  tlie  l)nrniiij^, 
and  the  natives  themselves  sncceeded  in  preservinj^  in  secret 
some  of  the  ancient  docnmeiits.  None  of  the  oldest,  however, 
have  l)een  foniid,  hnt  in  time  the  nniiil)er  known  to  us  may  he 
considerably  increased.  One  hy  one  they  turn  up  unexpectedly. 
That  called  the  Codex  Borgia  was  in  u.se  as  a  plaything  of  children 
of  the  Gnstiniaiii  family,  till  rescued  by  Cardin  d  Borgia,  and  only 
recently  another  one  has  been  found  dating  from  the  }ear  1545,' 
wherein  there  are  pictorial  combinations  never  i)efore  seen.  Thus 
grndnally  our  data  are  increasing,  and  with  the  awakening  interest 
in  Amerindian  arclueology  that  seems  to  have  come  in  these  latter 
days  of  the  nineteenth  century,  a  century  that  has  let  slip  much 
valuable  data  never  to  be  recovered,  further  iiiids  iiuiy  be  expected 
from  time  to  time.  The  style  of  the  A/lec  documents  is  different 
from  that  of  the  Maya  and  Brinton  bcl'-ves  them  to  be  independent 
developments.  It  is  possible,  lioweve',  that  both  were  derived 
from  the  same  source  and  developed  iii'Iependently."  The  A/tec 
writing  is  of  a  "  rebus"  character  and  Brinton  has  apiilied  to  it 
the  term  ikonoitiatic,  which  he  explains  a  i  follows  i!i  his  AVxrn.v  of 
n;,  .liHvn'canist':  "  Ail  methods  of  recording  ideas  have  been 
divided  into  two  classes  —  Thought  W^riting  and  vSonnd  Writing. 
The  first,  simplest  and  olde.st,  is  I'hought  Writing.  This  in  turn 
is  subdivided  into  two  forms — Ikonographic  and  vSymbolic  Writ- 
ing. The  former  is  also  known  as  Imitative,  Representative,  or 
Picture  Writing.  The  object  to  be  held  in  memory  is  representel 
by  its  picture  drawn  with  such  skill,  or  lack  of  skill,  as  the  writer 
may  possess.  In  vSymbolic  Writing,  a  single  characteristic  part 
or  trait  serves  to  represent  the  whole  object  ;  thus  the  track  of  an 
animal  will  stand  for  the  animal  itself.  ...  It  will  be  observed 
that  Thought  Writing  has  no  reference  to  spoken  language  ; 
neither  the  picture  of  a  wolf  nor  the  representation  of  his  foot- 
print conveys  the  slightest  notion  of  the  .sound  of  the  word  r<(V/' 

'  By  Dr.  Nicolas  Leon.  Sn'oirr,  Jan.  27,  1S99,  p,  156.  Still  another 
lately  turned  up  in  possession  of  an  l';nj>lish  gentleman. 

-'  "  They  may  have  passed  throu,t(h  some  of  the  same  staj^es  of  pfrowth, 
but  the  general  consensus  of  opinion  is  that  the  Mayan  is  the  older  of  the 
two  classes,  and  that  these  two  classes  have  developed  independently. — 
Thomas,  Siudy  of  American  Archeology,  p.  360. 

T.  213  et  seq. 


hi 

■I 


51 


I  :; 
I 

';'■ 

'I" 
i; 


■1 


I 

m 


1f 


I 


il  f 


J 


70 


The  Nortli-Americans  of  Vcstcrclay 


How  was  the  enormous  leap  made  from  the  thought  to  the  sound 
—in  other  words,  from  an  ideographic  to  a  phonetic  method  of 
writing  ?  Tliis  question  has  received  considerable  attention  from 
scholars  witli  reference  to  the  development  of  the  two  most  im- 
portant alphabets  in  the  world,  the  Egyptian  and  the  Chinese. 
Both  these  began  as  simple  picture  writing,  and  both  progressed 
to  almost  complete  phoneticism.  In  both  cases,  however,  the 
earliest  steps  are  lost,  and  can  be  retraced  only  by  indications 


iSs  m 


I'Ai;k  1-kum  an  a/TKC  liooK  (from  a  coju-  in  the  possession  of  M.  II.  Savilk) 

Plate  67  of  the  Nahuan  precolumbian  Vatican  Codex,  No.  3773,  Loubat  edition.  This  is  the  luth 
page  nf  tlic  'I'onalamatl,  the  sacred  astrohigical  calendar  of  the  Aztecs.  The  seated  figure  is 
the  goddess  Xochi(|uet/al,  and  on  the  left  is  the  god  J'ezcatlipoca.  The  book  is  in  si/e  aVxmt 
5x6  inches. 

remaining  after  a  high  degree  of  phonetic  power  had  been  reached. 
On  the  other  hand,  in  the  Mexican  and  probably  in  the  Maya 
hieroglyphics,  we  find  a  method  of  writing  which  is  intermediate 
between  the  two  great  cla.sses  I  have  mentioned,  and  which  illus- 
trates in  a  striking  manner  the  phases  through  which  both  the 
Egyptian  and  the  Semitic  alphabets  passed  .somewhat  before  the 
dawn  of  history.  To  this  method,  which  stands  midway  between 
the  ikonographic  and  the  alphabetic  methods  of  writing,  I  have 
given  the  name  ikonomatic,  derived  from  the  Greek  fiHOJv-oi'O:^  an 


;i  m 


vi. 


p.' a 
te 
is- 
lie 
lie 

in 


Mexican  and  Central-American  Writing,   Etc.      71 

image,  a  figure  ;  ovo/^ia-aTos,  a  name.  .  .  .  It  is  this  plan  on 
which  those  familiar  puzzles  are  constructed  which  arc  called 
relnises  and  none  other  than  this  which  served  to  I'ridge  over  tlie 
wide  gap  between  Thought  and  Sound  Writing.  It  is.  however, 
not  correct  to  sa}-  that  it  is  a  writing  by  t/ii>ii>s,  rebus  ;  but  it  is 
by  the  iianics  of  things,  and  hence  I  have  coined  the  work  ikono- 
matic  to  express  this  clearly."  The  position  of  the  signs  often 
had  important  significance,  just  as  it  has  in  some  of  our  puzzles, 
like  the  following  : 

WOOD 
JOHN 
MASvS 

which  is  said  to  have  been  the  address  on  a  letter  that  found  its 
destination  in  John  Underwood,  Andover,  Massachusetts.  It 
might  be  supposed  that,  having  acquired  a  knowledge  of  the 
method  of  tlie  Aztec  writing,  the  general  principles  of  which, 
according  to  Brinton,  were  known  many  years  ago,  we  would 
now  l)e  able  to  translate  the  Mexican  documents  with  little  diffi- 
culty. Tlie  trouble  lies,  however,  in  the  lack  of  exact  know- 
ledge of  the  Xahuatl  language  itself,  and  till  that  is  acquired  small 
progress  will  be  made.  It  will  be  ntcessary  to  understand  this 
language  before  its  modern  additions  and  changes  came  in,  in 
ordi.-r  to  connect  it  with  the  picture-writing,  or  rather  the  ikono- 
matic  writing,  of  the  fifteenth  and  previous  centuries.  It  has 
been  doubted  whether  there  is  any  phonetic  element  in  either  the 
Aztec  or  the  Maya  hieroglyphics,  but  the  evidence  seems  to  indi- 
cate that  there  is  a  phonetic  element,  notwithstanding  that  there 
has  been  a  following  in  many  cases  of 
rather  slender  threads  of  evidence. 

Brinton  gives  the  accompanying  il- 
lustration of  the  character  of  the  Aztec 
writing,  this  being  the  name  of  Mont- 
ezuma, but  really  reading  Moquahzoma. 
As  most  writers  spell  this  name  to  suit 
themselves,  judging  from  the  great 
variety  of  spellings,  we  may  as  well  ac- 
cej  ♦:  Moquahzoma  too.  Indeed,  as  this 
seems  to  be  supported  by  the  evidence  of  the  writing,  it  is  more 
likely  to  be  correct  than  the  others.     The  picture  at  the  right  is 


(tJ 


m 


MKXICAN     WRITl.Ni;      OK 

N.\MK   Ol'    .MoNTKZUMA 

From  Brinton 


'.  j 


!  t; 


i 


•n 


% 

If  . 


'^■^1 

a 

I'l      \ 

:!|i  i 

H 

U 

'1l 

J 

'l!       1 

'I  .  ! 

:M    1 

u  'i 

iP 

}       ' 

,.r    i( 

'M 

-1 

j.t.1 

■'!■  ' 

If  n 

I 


t  I' 


72 


The   North-Americans  of  Yesterday 


of  a  mouse-trap,  montli  in  Nahiiatl,  "  with  a  phonetic  vaUie  of 
mo  or  mo)i  ;  the  head  of  the  eagle  has  the  vakie  qiiau/i,  from 
quauhtli ;  it  is  transfixed  with  a  lancet  zo  and  surmounted  with 
a  hand  inaitl,  whose  phonetic  value  is  ma,  and  these  values 
combined    give  Moquahzoma.'''' 

When  Mendoza  was  viceroy  of  New  Spain,  he  caused  a  speci- 
men of  Aztec  writing  and  book-making  to  be  prepared  and  sent 
to  Charles  V.,  with  an  explanation  in  Spanish.  Copies  of  this 
exist  to  day  ;  one  in  the  Bodleian  Library,  Oxford,  and  an- 
other, which  Prescott  thoup-ht  was  the  original,  though  Bancroft 


U.  S.  Hu.  Eth. 


I'ARl    OK    ri.ATK   65,    DRKSDEX    CODKX 
Maya 


believed  it  to  be  a  copy,  in  the  Escurial  Library.  This  Codex 
Mendoza  was  in  three  parts  :  ist,  historical  ;  2d,  tribute  rolls  ;  3d, 
descriptive  of  the  domestic  life  and  manners  of  the  people.  Besides 
this  and  the  Borgia,  there  are  the  Codex  Vaticanus,  in  the  Vatican 
Library,  another  in  the  same  place  written  on  skin ;  the  Codex  Tel- 
leriano-Remensis,  in  the  Bibliotheque  National,  Paris  ;  the  Codex 


I  ,    ' 


:K 


Mexican  and  Central-American   Writimj;-,    Vac. 


I  .•) 


Bologna,  in  the  library  of  the  Scientific  Institute,  and  a  number  of 
others  in  divers  places.'  The  remnants  of  the  native  Tezcucan 
archives  were  inherited  by  Ixtlilxochitl,  lineal  descendant  of  the 
last  "  king  "  of  Te/.cuco,  who  used  them  in  preparing  his  historical 
writings.     The  collection  afterwards  disappeared. 

Many  of  the  manuscripts  were  merely  chronological,  but  there 
were  also  tribute  rolls,  law  codes,  court  records,  historical  records, 
and  all  the  varied  writings  that  belong  to  an  active  and  intelligent 
people.  The  priests  executed  and  held  in  their  possession  the 
important  books,  and  seem  to  have  been  the  leaders  of  whatever 
learning  existed.  "  These  writings,"  says  Bancroft,  "  were  a 
sealed  book  to  the  masses,  and  even  to  the  educated  classes  who 
looked  with  .superstitious  reverence  on  the  priestly  writers  and 
their  magic  .scrolls." 

The  paper  u.sed  was  usually  made  from  the  leaves  of  the 
maguey.  It  is  probable  that  the  Aztecs  learned  to  make  it  from 
the  Mayas  or  from  some  intervening  tribe  who  had  learned  from 
the  Mayas.  Sometimes  the  books  were  long  strips  of  cotton 
cloth,  or  even  a  kind  of  parchment.  They  were  either  rolled  up 
or  folded  like  a  .screen,  and  frequently  had  covers  of  wood.  A 
great  deal  of  ingenuity  and  skill  were  ))estowed  on  the  preparation 
ofthe.se  books  and  the  writing  they  contained. 

The  appropriate  name  of  "  calculiform  "  ^  has  been  gi  /en  to  the 
Maya  hieroglyphics  because  of  their  resemblance  to  pebble  forms. 
Besides  the  inscriptions  carved  on  .stone  from  the  Isthmus  of 
Tehuantepec  to  the  northern  border  of  Honduras,  there  are  some 
on  wood  and  in  stucco,  but  there  exist,  so  far  as  known,  but  very 
few  of  the  numerous  records  and  books  of  perishable  material 
which  the  pious  zeal  of  the  Spanish  priests  hastened  to  gather 
together  and  purify  of  heresy  and  wickedness  in  the  fires  of 
bigotry.  Bi.shop  Landa  says  :  "As  they  contained  nothing  that 
did  not  savour  of  superstition  and  lies  of  the  devil,  we  burnt 
them  all,  at  which  the  natives  grieved  most  keenly  and  were 
greatly  pained."  The  practice  of  the  Mayas,  it  is  said,  was  to 
bury  the  books  with  the  priest  who  had  written  them,  in  which 
case  large  numbers  of  the  writings  nm.st  have  been  disposed  of 
before  the  Spaniards  took  a  hand.  Doubtless,  however,  only  cer- 
tain books  were  thus  buried  with  the  authors,  and  perhaps  copies 

'  Several  have  recently  beeu  spleiiflidly  reproduced  and  may  be  found 
at  large  libraries.  "  Suggested  by  the  Al)be  Brasseur. 


''. ; 


f ' 


■!|, 


1  i 


.  tV  I 


i 


f       I 


'  4 


m 


'.i:i       /; 


*;  It 


,  1 


-1   , 


74 


The   North-Americans  of  Yesterday 


of  these  may  have  been  preserved.  At  any  rate,  unless  some  of 
the  books  have  been  protected  in  an  absolutely  dry  place,  tomb  or 
what  not,  or  there  were  also  writings  on  tablets  of  clay  or  stone, 
we  are  not  likely  to  have  our  present  scanty  knowledge  of  the 
ancient  Mayas  much  increased  through  this  channel.  There  are 
possibilities  of  discovery  in  many  ways,  even  amongst  the  papers 
in  forgotten  archives. 


;;*•  I 


r.v 


Peabody  Museum 
VASE    I'UOM    I.AHNA,    VICAIAN,    Wnil    I'lXTLlAK    MAKKIMIS 
Diameter  at  top,  5  inches;  diameter  at  bottom,  4  inches  ;  height,  4^^  inches 

In  the  Peabody  Museum  at  Cambridge  I  saw  a  small  vase 
from  Labna  that  fixed  my  attention  at  once,  and  I  understand 
there  are  others  in  existence  of  a  similar  character.  It  bears 
certain  marks  in  the  clay  that  suggested  to  my  mind  an  alphabetic 
system.  The  marks  are  in  groups,  each  group  contained  in  a 
space  that  apparently  corresponds  to  the  calculiform  inscriptions 
of  the  monuments.  It  seems  po.ssible,  therefore,  that  this  may  be 
a  development  out  of  the  calculiform.  Afterwards  I  found  a  ref- 
erence apparently  to  this  same  vase  in  Brinton's  Primer  of  Mayaii 
Hieroglyphics.     He  says  :    ' '  There  is  some  reason   to  suppose, 


%     <j 


'4 1 


Mexican  and   Central-American   Writing-,    \iu 


/v) 


however,  that  in  this  part  of  the  Mayan  territory  there  bad  l)een 
a  development  of  this  writing  until  it  had  become  conventional- 
ized into  a  series  of  lines  and  small  circles  enclosed  in  the  usual 
square  or  oval  of  the  katun.  I  have  vSeen  several  examples  of 
this  remarkable  script,  and  give  one,  Fig.  79,  part  of  an  inscrip- 
tion on  a  vase  from  Labna,  Yucatan,  now  in  the  Peabody  Mu- 
seum." If  these  marks  should  turn  out  to  be  alphabetic,  then  we 
may  expect  to  find  .slabs  and  tablets  similarly  inscribed. 

We  are  but  at  the  beginning  of  our  investigation  of  the  Ame- 
rind field.  Onl.v  recently  Saville  discovered  an  entirely  new  form 
of  hieroglyphic  in  Oaxaca  in  a  tomi)  believed  to  be  Zapotecan. 
Organi.sed    and   exhaustive    exploration    will   yield   fine   results. 


u.  s.  p.u.  r.tii. 

(ONVK.X    DISCOIDAI.    Sl'ONK,    NORTIt    CAUni.lNA 

"  vSuch  organised  and  exhaustive  exploration  is  the  more  to  be 
desired,"  says  Goodman,  "  for  the  reason  that  ali  the  inscriptions 
so  far  brought  to  light  are  of  a  purely  chronological  character, 
destitute  of  any  real  historical  importance.  The\-  are  merely  pub- 
lic calendars,  as  it  were,  .showing  that  at  specified  dates  certain 
periods  of  their  scheme  would  begin  or  end,  or  that  a  correspond- 
ence would  occur  between  two  or  more  of  their  different  plans  for 
computing  time.  Aside  from  the  circumstance  that  the  initial 
date  in  most  instances  undoubtedly  marks  the  time  at  whicli  the 
temple,  stela,  or  altar  to  which  it  belongs  was  erected,  I  do  not 
believe  there  is  the  record  of  a  .single  historical  event  in  all  the 
inscriptions  at  present  in  our  pos.session.  That  a  people  as  cul- 
tured as  they  .should  have  had  no  historical  records  at  all,  would 
be  a  presumption  too  absurd  for  cred.Mice,  even  without  the  testi- 
mony of  the  early  Spanish  authorities  to  the  contrary.     The  actual 


It 


I  I 


4' 


i^'  ! 


1 


« ■  « 


f 


76 


The   North-AiiK^ricans  of  \'est(.,'rday 


question  is  whether  any  of  them  will  ever  be  discovered.  If  they 
were  inscribed  upon  paper  or  parchment  and  buried  with  their 
priestly  owners,  as  we  are  told,  there  is  ver}-  little  hope  that  any 
vestige  of  them  remains,  unless  there  may  have  been  some  instance 
of  almost  miraculous  preservation.  Still  that  remote  chance  is 
worth  a  vast  amount  of  research.  But  a  better  hope  ...  is 
that  in  crypts  or  tombs  or  other  unexplored  receptacles  may  be 
collected  historical  tablets  of  durable  material  —  stone,  stucco, 
baked  clay,  or  even  metal — which  patient  excavation  will  yet  un- 
earth." Chance  has  played  the  chief  part  in  the  preservation  of 
the  few  documents  that  have  come  down  to  us.  In  the  Biblio- 
theque  National  at  Paris  the  Maya  one  now  known  as  the  Codex 
Peresianus  had  been  neglected  amongst  a  lot  of  old  papers  where 
De  Rosny  happened  to  discover  it.  It  has  generally  ])een  as- 
sumed that  because  there  was  found  one  form  of  writing  on  the 
monuments  and  a  similar  form  in  the  few  documents  preserved 
tliere  was  but  the  one  method.  This,  however,  does  not  necessar- 
ily follow.  The  monumental  records  and  the  chronological  books 
may  have  been  written  by  the  priests  in  the  archaic  style  while 
the  ordinary  and  common  style  was  something  quite  different.' 
Pio  Perez  has  been  followed  with  great  faith,  but  Goodman  thrusts 
him  aside  in  the  following  paragraph  :  "  The  man  who  led  every- 
body astray  .  .  .  was  Don  Pio  Perez.  ...  In  the  alxsence 
of  any  reL;ularly  ordained  authority,  he  was  at  once  accepted  on 
his  own  bare  assumption  as  a  leader  and  lawgiver,  and  then  began 
that  journey  through  the  wilderness  which  has  lasted  more  than 
forty  years.  .  .  .  I  ran  in  the  ruck  for  seven  seasons. 
Tlien  I  turned  and  went  back  to  Landa  —  to  whom  all  desirous  of 
reliable  information  concerning  Maya  chronolog\-  must  go  at 
last."  ''  The  troul>le  with  following  Landa  has  been  the  inaccur- 
acy of  the  translation  by  the  Abbe  Brasseur  as  well  as  a  certain 
confusion  existing  within  the  original  manuscript.^ 

Brinton  says  :  "  The  Mayas  were  naturally  a  literary  people. 
Had  they  been  offered  the  slightest  chance  for  the  cultivation  of 
their  intellects,  they  would  have  become  a  nation  of  readers  and 

'  Egypt  had  three  kiinls  of  writing. 

•  Biolos^ia  Ceu trail  Americana,  part  ix.,  p.  ii. 

^  For  a  fac-siinile  of  part  of  the  Landa  MS.  aiid  bibhographic  notes  on 
Mayan  and  Mexican  writing  see  Winsor's  Nat;  and  Crit.  Hist,  of  the  V.  S.^ 
vol.  i.,  p.  197. 


Mexican   and   Central-American   WritinLi,    luc. 


/  / 


■  t 


111 


writers."  Instead  of  having  this  chnnce  they  were  crushed  by  the 
Spaniards  and  never  rose  again.  But  the  decline  of  the  Mayas 
cannot  be  altogether  laid  at  the  door  of  vSpain.  The  renniant  of  the 
stock  encountered  by  tlie  Spaniards  was  already  on  the  down  road 
and  had  been  for  a  long  period.'  That  the  Maya.s  had  long  pa.ssed 
the  zenith  of  their  progress  is  generally  admitted,  and  we  are  not 
entirely  sure  that  the  people  we  know  as  Mayas  were  the  original 
stock  or  only  a  mixture  of  the  original  and  an  inferior,  wilder 
stock  which  mingled  with  them  in  the  days  of  their  decline.  When 
a  stock  declined  or  became  extinct,  other  stocks  from  contiguous 
territory  or  from  farther  off  were  likely  to  come  in  and  possess 
themselves  of  whatever  they  found  that  was  valuable  and  al.so  be- 
come permanent  residents  of  the  country,  just  as  the  Navajos  took 
up  their  home  in  a  land  that  was  formerly  the  residence  of  a  differ- 
ent, hou.se-building  stock  of  whom  the  Navajos  preserve,  so  far  as 
I  am  aware,  l^arely  a  reminiscence.  Berendt  thus  describes  the 
neighbourhood  of  Cintla  :  "  Not  a  .single  tradition,  not  a  single 
native  name  survives  to  cast  any  light  upon  these  ruins.  The 
whole  of  this  coast  was  depopulated  in  the  seventeenth  and 
eighteenth  centuries  owing  to  the  slave-hunting  incursions  of  the 
filibusters  and  man-hunters.  The  Indians  who  are  now  found  in 
the  neighbourhood  have  removed  there  from  the  interior  since  the 
beginning  of  the  present  century,  and  are  absolutely  ignorant  of 
the  origin  or  builders  of  this  city." 

Not  until  we  are  in  possession  of  historical  data  from  the  Mayas 
themselves,  if  that  happy  time  ever  arrives,  can  we  be  absolutely 
certain  as  to  the  present  descendants. 

"  In  Yucatan,"  says  Brinton,  "  the  books  of  the  Mayas  con- 
sisted of  a  kind  of  paper  made  by  macerating  and  Ideating  together 
leaves  of  maguey  and  afterwards  sizing  the  surface  with  a  durable 
white  varnish.  The  sheet  was  folded  like  a  screen,  forming  pages 
about  nine  by  five  inches.  Both  sides  were  covered  with  figures 
and  characters  painted  in  various  brilliant  colours.  On  the  outer 
pages  boards  were  fastened  for  protection,  .so  the  completed  volume 
had  the  appearance  of  a  bound  book  of  large  octavo  size.  Parch- 
ment was  sometimes  used  instead  of  paper.  It  was  made  of  deer- 
.skin  cured  and  smoked.  Twenty-seven  rolls  of  such  parchments 
covered  with  hieroglyphics  were  among  the  articles  burned  bj- 
Bisliop  Landa  at  Mani  in  1562."  "  None  of  t^iem,  however,"  re- 
'  See  the  Preface,  p.  vii.,  and  "^^he  last  chapter. 


'"1 
1*-. 


■'1 


n 


Ml 


m 


ti 


L''*' 


I 

M 


78 


Vhr.    Xorth-Anicricans  of  W-stcTtlay 


marks  Cioodman  of  the  M;iya  books  that  have  been  foutul,  '  can 
be  of  nnich  assistance  in  solvinij^  Maya  historical  problems,  as  they 
are  all  merely  text-books  explaining  the  meaning  of  signs,  llie 
elementary  })tinciples  of  their  respective  Ciilendars  and  certain 
phases  of  Innar,  solar,  and  in  a  few  places,  l)issextile  and  chrono- 
logical reckoning.  I  believe  the  fignres  nsnally  snpposed  to  repre- 
sent deities  to  be  onlv  personifications  of  different  periods  or  phases 
of  time,  and  that  most  of  the  glyphs  are  merel}'  nnmcrals  or  sym- 
i)ols  nsed  for  the  occasion  in  tlieir  nnmerative  sense  only." 

It  is  plain,  therefore,  that  nuich  of  the  snpposed  interpretation 
of  the  Maya  inscriptions  has  liad  little  .solid  fonndation,  has  in 
fact  been  little  better  than  gnesswork.  There  was  one  sangnine 
translator  who  was  discovered  to  have  begnn  at  the  rrnvo-  oid  of 
the  book  !  The  readings  of  the  Maya  inscriptions  sometimes  sug- 
gest that  other  my.sterious  operation  of  certain  brilliant  scholars 
of  our  lime,  the  discovery  and  reading  of  the  vShakespeare-Baconian 
cipher.  The  lack  of  real  iniderstanding  of  the  Maya  subject  is 
pretty  well  indicated  ])y  the  various  estimates  of  the  value  of 
Landa's  legacy,  One  author,  Holden,  .states  that  it  was  a  positive 
misfortune,  while  Goodman,  after  following  other  lines  for  a  lime, 
returns  to  Landa  as  the  only  real  foundation  for  accurate  study. 
Tht're  is  even  yet  difference  of  opinion  as  to  the  proper  directions, 
left  to  right  or  up  and  down,  etc.,  in  which  the  works  are  to  l)e 
read  when  they  are  read.  Apparently  the  first  sensible  thing  to 
be  done  is  to  gather  together  all  that  Landa  wrote  and  reduce  it  to 
a  shape  that  will  place  it  before  the  greatest  number  of  students,  in 
coiuiection  with  specimens  of  every  kind  of  a  mark  or  picture  that 
by  any  possibility  might  have  alphabetic  significance.  A  striking 
peculiarity  of  the  Maya  remains  is  that  there  are  not  found  any  pre- 
liminary or  originating  forms  of  the  glyphs.  "  We  are  compelled 
therefore  to  admit,"  says  Thomas,  "  that  the  origin  of  this  writing 
is  a  mystery  we  are  unable  to  fully  penetrate."  '  It  may  be  that 
the  forms  from  which  it  was  derived  were  recorded  on  .skins,  on 
wood,  or  on  bark,  and  in  that  case  they  probablj-  disappeared  be- 
fore the  begiiming  of  the  Maya  decline.  "  A  difference,  it  is 
true,"  saj'S  Thomas,"  "  in  the  forms  and  ornamentation,  and,  to 
a  certain  degree,  an  advance  toward  a  more  perfect  type,  can  be 
traced,  but  no  examples,  so  far  as  the  writer  is  aware,  of  the  first 

'  Cynis  Thomas,  Iiitroductiou  to  Study  of  American  Archceology,  p.  361. 
''  [bid.,  p.  343. 


Mexican  and   Central-American   Writint^,   Etc.     79 

rude  begiuniujj^s  or  the  original  forms  have  l)eeii  fouiul.     Some 
comparatively  rude  are  found  painted  on  pottery,  scratched  r)n 


I 


id 


e- 
is 
to 
)e 

St 


1      i 


Peabody  Museum 

I'KMAI.K    IIK\n    IN     IKACIIYrK 

l'"r(iin  sliipe  iinrlh  of  'I'ciiiplo  22 — Ciipau.     Sli.^luly  lari;i-r  tli.iii  life 

shells  or  other  soft  material,  but  these  belons;  to  what  may  be 
termed  demotic  writing  and  are  not  primitive  forms.  CompariuLi; 
the  characters  of  the  various  inscriptions  which  have  been  dis- 


'^i 


'■[: 


■  s 


^J! 


1^  L 


80 


TIk:    Nortli-Anicricaiis  uf   \'cst(jrchi)- 


covered  and  those  foiiiul  in  the  few  remainiiip^  pre-Cohiiuhiaii 
nmiuiscripts,  the  result  is  as  follows  :  /•'/rs/,  it  is  apparent  that  the 
characters  in  the  manuscripts  have  been  adapted  from  those  of  the 
inscriptions.  In  other  words,  inscriptions  preceded  the  manu- 
scripts ;  hence  we  must  look  to  the  foriner  for  tlie  older  forms. 
\\'h;it  appear  to  the  writer  to  be  the  oldest  forms  of  the  glyphs  yet 
discovered  are  .seen  in  those  of  Palencjue  and  .some  of  the  inscrip 
tions  found  by  Charna\-  at  Meiiche  (Lorillard  City),  though  others 
discovered  by  him  at  this  same  place  belong  to  the  later  and  more 
ornamental  type,  discovered  in  the  Peten  region,  that  is  those 
carved  in  wood  discovered  by  Bernouilli  at  Tikal,  a  type  also 
found  at  Copan  and  Chichen  It/.a,  but  in  none  of  the  inscriptions 
at  Palencpie."  For  my  ])art,  I  cannot  .see  that  Thomas  has  exactly 
proved  that  the  manuscripts  were  later  than  the  stone-carved  in- 
.scriptions,  but  his  knowledge  of  the  subject  is  .so  great  and  his 
methods  so  cautious  that  I  am  glad  to  give  his  statement  in  this 
connection. 

The  Maya  glyphs  probably  developed  out  of  something  like  the 
Mexican  or  Aztec  writing  ;  and  the  step  was  not  a  very  long  one 
from  writing  of  the  character  of  the  Lenape  11  a/aw  Oliini  to  that 
of  the  A/.tec,  and  again  it  was  not  a  long  step  from  the  ordinary 
picture-writing  to  the  Walam  Oliiin,  .so  that  it  would  .seem  that  in 
these  various  writings  we  have  an  interesting  .'••eries  of  steps  from 
the  crudest  attempts  at  records,  nearly,  if  not  quite,  to  the  highest, 
for  it  nnist  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  step  from  the  Maya  glyphs 
to  a  true  phonetic  alphabet  would  be  even  shorter  than  any  of  the 
others.  It  is  not  impossible  that  something  of  the  kind  may  yet 
be  discovered.  Wliile  the  Mayas  had  made  little  progress  in  me- 
chanical inventions,  their  progress  in  architecture,  art,  writing, 
and  in  astronomy  is  a  proof  that  they  were  a  thinking  people, 
and,  had  conditions  continued  favourable  to  their  progress,  tlie 
Spaniards  would  have  found  them  not  easy  to  vanquish.  The 
])ron)inent  and  striking  quality  of  the  calculiform  style  has  had  a 
tendency  to  obscure  the  point  that  there  may  have  been  another 
system  in  vogue,  more  simple,  more  modern,  in  short  purely 
phonetic.  Perfected  phonetic  characters  are  simple  characters  and 
are  likely  not  to  attract  notice,  especially  when  attention  has  been 
fixed  on  other  forms. 

So  far  as  now  understood,  there  is  no  relationship  between  any 
kind  of  Amerindian  writing  and  that  of  other  races.     Like  every- 


i\ 


Mexican  and  Central-American   Writing;,    liu.     Si 


thins;  else  i>ertaiiiiii^  to  tlie  Ameriiul  people,  the  (itvelopnieiit 
appears  to  have  been  purely  indij^eiions.  Le  IMon^eon,  however. 
asserts  that  "  abundant  ])rool"s  of  tlie  intimate  connnnnications 
of  llie  ancient  Ma\as  with  tlie  civilised  nations  of  Asia,  Africa, 
anl  ICurope  are  to  be  found  anionj;  the  remains  of  their  ruined 
cities."  '  The  {^rounds  accepted  for  this  statenienl  do  not  seem 
to  l)e  sulTicient  to  satisfy  other  investigators.  Certainly  if  there 
was  anv  inter-conununication,  it  was  before  the  actpiirenicnt  of 
iroti-workinj.^  in  other  countries,  as  so  far  no  prehistoric  iron  has 
been  f(jund  in  the  ruins  of  Yucatan. 


,1 


I'it'iil  C'nliinibi.iii  MusiMim  W.  II.  MoIiul-s 

I   SUAI.     IVI'i:    ti|-    SCI'M'IIKKI)    "VdKKS,"    CKNTUAI,    AMlCRIl   A 

1$]^  inches  li'ii;{;   i.('.4  inches  wide  ;  thickness,  ^H  \  4)3  inches 
Suhst.ni   e:     Dark,  greenisli  grey,  very  cninpact,  chlorite;    surface  well  j)()lisheil.     Carvinij  of  a 

friiji  (ir  tiiail 

After  the  coming  of  the  Spaniards,  some  of  the  Mayas  soon 
learned  their  alphabet  and  the  missionaries  added,  says  Brinton, 
"  a  sufficient  number  of  signs  to  it  to  express  with  tolerable  ac- 
curacy the  phonetics  of  the  Maya  tongue.  Relying  on  their 
memories,  and,  no  doubt,  aided  by  some  manuscripts  secretly  pre- 
'  OuCi'ii  Moo,  by  A.  Le  Pluiigeon,  p.    xv. 


!      ;    I 


I 


i 


T 


r 


(iHi 


S2 


Tin:   North-. \nicricaiis  of  NCstcrday 


served,  inatiy  natives  set  to  work  to  write  out  in  this  new  alj)hahet 
the  contents  of  their  ancient  records.  Much  was  added  wliicli 
had  been  bron^lit  in  l)y  the  Ivnropeans,  and  iniicli  omitted  which 
had  become  unintelligible  or  ()l)Solete  since  the  Cotuiuesl,  while  of 
course  the  different  writers  varying:  in  skill  and  knowledj^e  ])ro- 
duced  works  of  very  various  merit.  Nevertheless  each  of  these 
liooks  bore  the  same  name.  In  whatever  village  it  was  written, 
or  by  whatever  hand,  it  always  was,  and  to-day  .still  is,  called  '  /'/if 
/>'(>(>/'  o/"  Cy///(i fi  /io/(tf//.'  To  dislinj^uish  them  apart,  the  name  of 
the  village  where  a  copy  was  fouiul  or  written  is  added.  l'rol)ably 
in  tile  last  century  almost  every  village  had  one,  which  was  treas- 
ured with  superstitious  veneration."  Sixteen  of  these  curious 
books  are  known  to  exist,  but  there  has  never  been  a  complete 
translation  of  any  of  them.  The  following  specimen  is  from  VV/c 
/)Oo/c  of  C/ii/tui  lia/iu)i  of  the  town  of  Mani,  and  is  taken  from 
lirinton's  C/ironir/rs  of  f/ic  JArya.' 

' '  /.(i/  u  t':o/an  /cafioi  /ii/cci  ti  cab  li yotoc/i  Nonoiia/  cantc  ani/o  Tu- 
tu/A in  /i  i/ii/d)i  Ziiiud  H  /hi/ mi/  a  ta/c/ob  Tii/apivi  ihicona/il/iany 

Translation  :  "  This  is  the  arrangement  of  the  katuns  since  the 
departure  was  made  from  the  land,  from  the  house  Xonoual,  where 
were  the  four  Tutulxiu,  from  Zuiva  at  the  West  :  they  came  from 
the  land  Tulapan,  having  formed  a  league." 

The  strange  title  of  these  books  is  derived  from  that  of  the 
priests  or  shamans,  who  were  believed  to  have  divine  powers.  They 
due  from  1595.  The  Maya  books  at  present  known  are  three 
one  in  two  p;irts,  with  these  titles  :  7.  Codix  Tro  or  '/^roai,.',  jc 
])iges,  found  by  the  Al)be  Hrasseur  at  Madrid  ;  2.  Codex  Cor/os- 
iaiiiis,'  so  named  because  of  a  belief  that  it  was  brought  to  ICurope 
by  Cortes,  also  at  Madrid,  and  believed  to  be  a  part  of  the  Tro- 
ano  ;  3.  l^irsdoii  Codex,  74  pages,  in  the  Royal  Library,  Dresden  ; 
4.  Codex  /\'resiaiiHs,  22  pages,  the  one  discovered  in  the  Paris 
l^ibliothecjue  National  by  De  Rosny,  and  given  its  title  from  the 
name  "  Perez,"  written  on  the  outer  wrapper.  Besides  these  it  has 
been  supposed  that  there  are  several  in  private  hands.  The 
Quiches,  of  Mayan  .stock,  had  a  .sacred  book  called  the  Popo/ 
Vu/i/  and  the  allied   Cakchiquels  had  their  Reeords  of  Tecpan 

'  Pp.  95  and  100. 

'•'The  "Codex  Cortesianus  is  considered  to  furnish  a  connecting  link 
between  Maya  and  Mexican  symbols." — Powell. 

'  Written  in  1558.     An  abridgment  of  an  older  book. 


Mcxiciin  .mil  Ccntral-Aiucriciin   WriliiiLf,    luc     Si 


.•">' 


AtilJan.  Other  tribes  or  stocks  of  the  Mexican  re>{ioii  uiuloiibt- 
edly  liad  books  and  records  also,  but  in  the  present  state-  of 
kno\vledjj;e  m)thin,L;  <lefinite  can  be  said  about  them.  Hul  there 
was  a  K^'ii^-'^al  hi;-;h  d-jvelopnient  of  all,  or  at  least,  the  majority, 
of  the  stocks  occupxiiii,'^  Mexico  anil  Central  America  in  the 
tiflcenth  century  and  i)el'ore,  so  that  it  is  entirely  reasonable  to 
expect  a  considerable  corresponding;-  d'-velopnient  in  the  liiu;  of 
picturewritinj;,  hieroj^lyphs  or  alphal)ets.  'i'hese,  in  some  c;ises, 
will  come  to  our  knowled.i;e,  just  as  the  new  hiero<;lyph  attributed 
ti>  the  Zapotecs  recently  rewarded  the  investigations  of  vSaville. 

The  numeral  systems  of  these  people  were  well  develoj)ed, 
and  they  were  able  to  make  exact  calculations  in  astronnnucal, 
and  in  all  other  matters.  The  A/tecs  used  dots  from  one  to  ten, 
or  twenty,  and  then  symbols.  The  Ma\as  used  dots  oidy  to  four, 
and  then  dots  and  lines  to  nineteen,  beyond  which  little  is  known 
of  their  method.  Like  all  the  rest  of  the  Maya  subject,  there  is 
in  this  line  of  investigation  c()nsiileral)le  confusion  and  great  lui- 
certainty.  The  table  herewith  given  is  a  suggestion  of  a  possible 
line  of  study.  It  seems  to  me  to  be  the  nnt/iod  that  was  followed, 
though  my  arrangement  or  even  the  figures  an  not  correct. 
I  introduce  it  here,  before  bestowing  upon  it  further  study,  because 
it  may  contain  an  idea  that  will  start  someone  else  on  a  right  track. 
It  lias  been  generally  accepLed  that  one  dot  *  is  one,  two  dots  •  •  two, 
and  so  on  to  four  •  *  *  *,  after  which  five  was  a  straight  line." 
Mere  ari.ses  a  question.  Did  the  dots  and  lines  mean  the  same 
when  horizontal  as  when  vertical  ?  They  occur  both  ways  in  the 
inscriptions  and  in  the  manuscripts,  and  Goodman  takes  them  to 
be  the  same.     Vertical  and  horizontal  occur  together  frec|uenlly. 


tluu 


from    PI.    SI,   Dresden    Codex.       A   doubt   fills  my 


mind,  however,  on  this  point.  It  is  possible  that  when  vertical 
the  dots  and  lines  harl  a  different  meaning.  On  this  assumption, 
the  two,  three,  etc.,  horizontally  placerl  would  mean  either  one, 
two,  three,  etc.,  or  some  higher  figures,  leaving  the  vertically 
placed  ones  to  take  their  place  as  one,  two,  three,  etc.  I  nssume 
that  the  vertical  ones  were  the  begiiuiing.  The  Maya  system  was 
a  vigesimal  one,  that  is,  a  counting  by  twenties.  Ivvcry  new 
twenty,  therefore,  would  be  represented  by  a  new  symbol.  Re- 
ferring to  the  table,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  dots  and  lines  ver- 
tically i)laced  and  combined  carry  the  talde  easily  to  nineteen, 

"6 


' 


il 


\\im 


■  m 


11' 


V 


i 

It 

1 

\  ' 


I     r 


84 


The   North-Americans  of  Yesterday 


that  is,  a  clot  beside  the  five  line  gives  six,  two  five  lines  give  ten, 
three,  fifteen,  while  the  addition  of  the  dots  carries  the  count  quite 
naturally  to  the  nineteen.  It  is  now  necessarj-  to  adopt  a  sign  for 
twenty,  and  there  have  been  adopted  by  various  authors  as  many 
various  signs,  with  several  variants  in  each  lot.  Once  settle  on  a 
.symbol  for  twent} ,  and  the  road  is  easy  to  twenty-nine  by  plac- 
ing the  dots  and  lines  horizontally,  Thomas  gives  this  figure 
[^Q    for  twenty,'  but  I  do  not  believe  it  is  twenty,  and   for 

convenience  will  adopt  this  ^.  Then  to  get  twenty-one  it  would 
l)e  simple   for   the  Maya  to  put  a  little  cross  on  each  side  of 


the  dot,  that  is  above  and  below, 
and  it  is  varied  sometimes  by  this 


X 


This  figure  is  frequent, 
and  l)y  this    X,  which 


Brinton  assumes  all  to  be  variants  of  twenty.  I  take  it  they 
are  variants  of  twenty-one  and  twenty-two,  or  of  one  and  two. 
Rumiing  down  to  twenty-nine  by  means  of  the  dots  and  lines,  we 
arrive  at  the  necessity  for  a  new  symbol  for  forty,  and  I  take  a 
common  symbol  in  the  inscriptions,  Cj.     To  follow  preci.sely  the 

method  indicated  by  progress  thus  far,  we  would  put  a  dot  in- 
side of  this  for  forty-one,  but  the  Maya  does  not  seem  to  have  done 
this,  but  made  a  slight  change,  perhaps  to  avoid  confusion,  and  he 

put  the  dot  outside  and  to  the  left,      ()  .     Four  of  these  dots 

make  forty-four,  and  then  forty-five  is  represented  bj-  a  straight 
line  vertically  within.  Dots  now  outside  as  before  carry  to  forty- 
nine,  when  a  vertical  line  replacing  the  dots  gives  fifty.  Adding 
dots  again  as  before  leads  to  fift3'-four,  while  doubling  the  lines 

with  the  dots  produces  all  figures  up  to  fifty-nine,  i\lQ-  Then 
once  more  a  new  character  is  needed  to  go  on,  and  one  is  chosen 
that  is  very  common  in  the  Dresden  Codex,  occurring  in  a  number 
of  different  forms.  It  is  this  <;2I^  hi  its  simple  form.  Thomas 
takes  it  in  this  form  ^^^  for  naught,  and  Forsteman  for  the 
same  numeral  in  this  form  ^^^.  The  difference  between  these 
two  is  immediately  apparent,  and  it  seems  that  both  the.se  able  in- 
vestigators have  made  a  mi.stake  in  this  respect.     It  is  as  if  some 


and 


1.    r 


'Goodman  gives  these  three    signs    for    20    j| 

remarks,  "the  last  of  the  three  beinjif  drawn  with  a  great  variety  of  detail." 
— Biologia  Centrali  Americana^  part  viii.,  p.  64. 


Ml' 


Mexican  and  Central-American  Writing',    I'^tc.     S5 


ve  ten, 
it  quite 
■iign  for 
s  many 
tie  on  a 
)y  plac- 
s  figure 

and   for 

it  would 

side  of 

requent, 

,  which 

it  they 

md  two. 

lines,  we 

I  take  a 

isely  the 
1  dot  in- 
ave  done 
1,  and  he 

ese  dots 
straight 
to  forty- 
Adding 
he  lines 
.     Then 
s  chosen 
inunber 
Thomas 
for  the 
en  these 
able  in- 
if  some 

and 
)f  detail." 


future  investigator  should  give  as  our  naught  the  figure  6  and 
the  figure  9.  The  .simple  form  is  possibly  one  of  the  chief  Maya 
numerals  and  the  enclosed  lines  give  it  the  necessary  differen- 
tiation. Some  change  occurs  again  here,  in  the  system  I  have 
attempted  to  outline.  There  are  used  lines  instead  of  dots, 
though  dots  also  were  used,  and  the  horizontal  line  does  not 
appear  to  have  been  doul)led  ;  at  least  I  have  been  unai)Ie  to 
find  an  example  of  it,  though,  as  the  number  of  manuscripts  is 
limited,  I  could  hardly  expect  to  find  examples  of  all  the  figures 
in  them.  The  carved  iriscriptions  being,  as  is  believed,  older 
than  the  manuscripts,  there  would  be  a  difference  between  the 
numerals  in  them  and  in  the  books.  But  we  will  take  the  simple 
character  ^^^  for,  say,  sixty.  It  may  be  mentioned  again  that 
these  selections  and  their  order  are  merely  tentative.  Only  In- 
long  stud}'  might  the  matter  be  determined.  Adding  lines  trans- 
verseh'  as  found  in  the  Dresden  Codex,  we  arrive  easily  at 
sixt}-four.  Following  the  previous  system,  a  horizontal  line 
with  an  upward  curve  tlien  gives  ^^^  sixty-five,  and  transverse 
lines  again  take  us  to  .sixty-nine.     A  horizontal  line  with  a  down 

curve  produces  seventy  ^^^.     vSeventy-four  would  then  be  ^^, 

and  as  the  horizontal  line  seems  not  to  have  been  doubled  we  are 

forced   to  choose   another   character   for   seventy-five   C^>.     A 

down  cur\  ed  horizontal  line  then  gives  sevent\'-six  ^^^.  while 
for  seventy-seven  an  entirely  new  form  is  used.  The  reversal  of 
seventy-five  and  .seventy-.six  carries  to  seventj'-nine.  The  cross 
lines  in  some  cases  appear  to  have  been  used  up  to  sixty-seven. 
There  are  so  many  different  figures  of  this  kind  that  it  is  pos- 
sible they  were  used  interchangeably  in  some  ca.ses.  For 
eighty  a  new  figure  is  required,  and  I  have  selected  one  that 
occurs  frequently  in  the  Dresden  book,  in  shape  something  like  a 

bow,    r  .     A   series   of  dots  readily  carries  to  eighty-four,   and 

then  the  substitution  of  a  line  like  a  bow-.string  gives  eighty-five 

j  j  .     The   next  step   at   ninety   would  be   to  double   this   l^ow- 

string,  but  this  seems  not  to  have  been  done,  as  I  can  find  no  ex- 
ample of  it.  Rut  I  do  find  a  differentiation  in  another  way, 
probably  because  in  this  figure  doubling  the  string  would  be 
clumsy,      file  difference  is  made  by  a  rider  on  the  string,  and  there 


it; 


'1 


M 


Tni 


^■ 


in'  i 

I 

I' 

:fli  ' 


« 


/a 

II 
1% 
'J 
If 
IS- 


ao     % 

X 

21        • 
93    ••• 


•  ••• 


•I  36-^ 

•I  •• 

•[         ^7  — 

il 
II 
•|l 
11 

ill 


J* 

Jo ; 
3/ ; 

3i  ; 

33 ; 
J? 


•  • 


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vv 


IS 


0 


5-1 


•10 
^•10 

« no 

^-  no 

-110 
•|I0 

^  ^/-IIO 

=    «:||0 
m    V:IIO 


j-fc 


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77 
7i(<2> 


ill 


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^ 
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a  d 


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73  ^>       ?J  j| 

7</  ^        ^v.  (I 


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Oca; 


T-^D 


From  dniwiiijj  by  the  author 

A    SUGGESTION    OK     IHK    POSSIHI.K    SCUHMK,   OK    MAYA    MMKKAI.S.       WIIOLLV 

TKN'I'ATIVK 

Founded  on  figures  in  the  codices  and  on  tablets 

S6 


^^ 


Mexican  and  Central-American  Writing-,   Etc.     87 

are  two  kinds  of  rider,  one  a  point  or  triangle,  and  the  other  a 
double  square.     Taking  one  of  these  riders  for  ninety,  and  then 

the  dots  beside  it,  we  find  ourselves  at  ninety-four  f^.     Then  with 

tlie  other  rider  on  the  string  for  ninety-five  we  arrive  by  means  of 

the  dots  at  ninety-nineM.     Then  comes  a  demand  for  a  character 

for  one  hundred,  and  this  appears  to  have  been  merely  a  circle.  A 
dot  beside  it  would  give  loi,  and  so  on  by  adding,  out  or  in,  the 
various  symbols  199  is  reached.  To  get  to  299  it  is  only  nec- 
essary to  add  another  circle.  For  500  some  other  symbol  nnist 
be  adopted,  and  the  apparent  one  is  a  .sort  of  circle  with  a  kind  of 
scarf  knot  at  the  top,  or  perhaps  it  can  be  described  as  a  knotted 


scarf. 


at  599. 


Taking  this  as  500   we  can    easily   arrive 
An  extra  circle  within  will  then  carrv  to 


699, 


and  .so  on  by  adding  circles  up  to  locx).  Thomas  in  one  of  his  ad- 
mirable discu.ssions  of  Maya  writing  '  is  pu/./.led  by  what  he  terms 
ornamental  loops  around  some  of  the  numerals,  l)ut  if  the  line  I 
have  indicated  here  has  any  sense  in  it  these  ornamental  loops 
would  be  C02,  604,  etc.,  or  some  other  numljers  depending  or.  the 
proper  place  for  this  symbol  in  the  general  scheme.  The  series  of 
*'  loops  "  mentioned  by  Thomas  is  this: 


Something  might  be  determined  by  a  comparison  of  these  .sym- 
bols with  the  known  names  of  numbers.     The  Mayas  counted  into 
the  millioris,  so  thej'  must  have  had  a  perfected  system. 
'  .SV.iV//  Aim.  Rrp.  Bn.  Et/i.,  p.  337. 


U.  S.  13u.  Eth. 


ii 


fi 


\f 

lit. 

1 

1 

I 

ll 

' 

lul 

\. 

fj 

OM.\I[.\.    C.M.r.MET 


I 


U.  S.  I'.u.  Kth 


f).MAItA    WAR    ri.LH 


!|l 


CHAPTER  V 


BASKKTRY    AM)    POTTKRY 


f.i 


II 

III 


1: 


^ 


ALiMOST  every  tribe  the  world  round  seems  to  have  acquired 
at  a  very  early  stage  in  its  progress  a  knowledge  of  plaiting 
rushes,  strips  of  l^ark,  or  other  simple  substances,  ior  use 
as  beds,  covering  of  shelters,  etc.,  and  in  this  knowledge  may  l)e 
discovered  the  beginnings  of  several  arts  of  the  first  importance 
to  man  :  basketry,  weaving,  and  pottery.  Basketry  and  pottery 
are  mother  and  daughter.  Plaiting  together  straws  or  rushes  was 
a  simple  operation  and  nuist  have  occurred  to  tne  most  primitive 
tribes  spontaneously  as  the  need  for  some  such  thing  arose.  Hav- 
ing produced  a  mat  and  used  it  for  various  purposes,  the  turning 
up  of  the  sides,  or  edges,  for  the  purpose  of  retaining  tilings  ui)on 
it,  thereby  producing  a  shallow  basket  or  tray,  was  an  easy  step, 
and  by  such  stages  did  basketry  grow  to  perfection.'  The  Ame- 
rinds excelled  particularly  in  this  art,  and  there  were  few  tril^es 
without  abilitv  to  make  baskets  and  other  wicker-work,  the  char- 
acter  and  excellence  of  which  depended  to  a  considerable  extent 
on  the  material  available. 

Wicker  jugs,  rendered  water-tight  by  means  of  pitch,  were  in- 
vented and  used  for  cookery,  hot  .stones  being  introduced  through 
the  wide  mouth,  to  bring  the  contents  to  the  required  temperature, 
and  it  was  the  effort  to  protect  the  basketry  used  in  the  various 
culinary  operations  from  the  effects  of  the  heat  that  led  to  coatings 
of  mud  or  clay,  which  being  hardened  by  the  fire,  disclo.sed  the 

'  See  the  monumental  work  on  basketry  l)y  Otis  T.   Mason,  and  ollur 
writinj^s  on  this  subject  l)y  the  same  nutl.or. 

88 


T 


Basketry  and   Pottery 


89 


great  secret.  There  is  still  in  use  among  some  of  the  more  primi- 
tive tribes  of  America  a  "  boiling-basket,"  that  is,  a  wicker  jug 
rendered  waterproof,  and  in  which  food  is  cooked  ns  indicated. 
In  Zuiii  this  basket  was  known  as  a  "  coiled  cooking  basket,"  and 


- 


ill 


i 


NORTH-WKSr   COAST    IKA  THF.R    ORNAMKNTA  TKJN    ON    HASKETS 


U.  S.  Bu.  Kth. 
TINNF.  WOUK-I'.ASKF.T 


I  ' 


t   i 

i 


H 


'  ) 


ii; 


MiiKI     WK'KKK     WA'IKU-jrC,       }{ 


the  corrugated  earthen  pot  used  to  this  day  is  called  a  "  coiled 
earthenware  cooking  basket."  And  the  Navajos  still  call  earthen- 
ware pots,  "  kle-it-tsa  "  or  mud-basket.  In  these  terms  is  seen  a 
clear  indication  of  the  origin  of  pottery  among  the  Amerinds  in 
basketry.     Cushing  found  the.se  boiling-baskets  in  use  a  few  years 


i!: 


H  1 


I'-l 


if  i" 


i^ 


90 


The   Nortli-Anicricans  of  Yestcrciay 


a,u;o  among  the  Havasupai,  who  live  an  isolated  life  in  northern 
Arizona,  and  I  saw  similar  jugs  among  the  Amerinds  of  Utah 
twenty  years  ago,  and  some  more  recently  among  the  Moki,  the 
latter,  however,  not  using  them  for  boiling  purposes,  and  perhaps 
not  being  the  makers  of  them.  They  are  bottle-shaped,  but  with 
wide  mouths,  and  provided  near  their  rims  with  a  sort  of  cord  or 
strap  for  a  handle  attached  to  two  loops  or  eyes.  In  some  of  the 
pots  derived  from  this  form  these  loops  are  repre.sented  by  little 
knoi)s  of  clay,  or  by  an  ornament. 

Cushing  describes  the  Hnva.supai  in  Arizona  as  using  a  wicker 

tray  lined  with 
clay  for  the  pur- 
pose of  roasting 
or  parching 
seeds,  and  this 
was  probably 
used  by  all  prim- 
ilive  peoples. 
The  seeds  were 
placed  on  the 
cliy- lined  tray 
111(1  agitated 
willi  live  coals. 
Naturally  the 
clay  is  hardened 
by  the  heat  of  the 
coals,  and  would  be  sure  to  suggest  the  making  of  uten.sils  from  it  by 
means  of  fire.  The  turning  up  of  the  edges  would  follow  the  use 
of  the  first  trays  made  of  clay,  in  imitation  of  wicker  bowls,  and  so 
would  other  forms  of  l)asketry  be  imitated,  as  well  as  forms  in  horn, 
wood  or  shell.  Perliaps  the  wicker  jugs  may  have  been  coated 
with  clay  on  tiie  outside  for  protection,  and  eventually  the  heat 
not  only  baked  the  clay  but  destroyed  the  wicker  framework  that 
had  supported  it.  Thus  jugs  of  clay  may  have  Ijeen  made  by 
burning  away  the  framework  every  time,  just  as  Lamb's  discov- 
erer of  roast  pig  could  find  no  other  way  of  securing  his  toothsome 
morsel  than  that  of  burning  down  the  house.  Or  the  jar  may 
have  been  modelled  on  the  inside  and  then  the  wicker  burned 
off.  When  we  speak  contemptuously  of  primitive  peoples  it  is 
well  to  remember  that  they  were  inventors  as  well  as  ourselves. 


U.  S.  lUi.  Kth. 

llAVASri'AI    Cl.AV-l.lNKI)    ROASTINC     TKAV 


■'f 

i    :! 

•  > 

1 .: 
■I 

Basketry  and   Pottery 


91 


When  the  art  of  pottery  was  discovered  basketry  remained 
in  use,  for  pottery  conld  not  take  its  phice  in  many  uses  then 
anymore  than  it  can  to-day.  Tlie  environment  and  habits  of  a 
tribe  controlled  the  amount,  the  quality,  the  character,  of  both 
basketry  and  pottery.  A  tribe  possessing  plenty  of  good  clay 
would  make  more  and  better  pottery  than  one  finding  clay  difficult 
to  acquire,  provided  both  had  reached  tlie  same  degree  of  pro- 
ficiency in  this  art,  bul  nitre  abundance  of  good  clay  would  not 
necessarily  make  skilful  potters  ;  that  is,  the  degree  of  progress  in 
culture  of  a  tribe  and  other  factors  of  environment  than  the  presence 
or  absence  of  gootl  clay  in  quantity  had  much  to  do  with  pottery- 


U.  S.  Rii.  Eth. 

IKiiiilDIS    !',!U(in!.\KK    VKSSKI, 


NOKTIl-WKST    COAST   liASKF.'l', 


1/ 


making.  For  example,  the  Pueblos  and  the  Navajos  occupy  the 
same  kind  of  a  region,  or  rather  the  same  region,  with  plenty  of 
clay  and  a  sinular  abundance  of  yucca,  willows,  etc.,  for  ba.sketr}', 
yet  the  Pueblos  carried  ]")ottery-makiiig  to  a  high  degree  of  excel- 
lence, while  the  Navajos  produced  only  a  limited  amount  of  inferior 
ware.  Nor  is  this  a  matter  of  intelligence,  for  the  Navajos  are  as 
intelligent  as  any  Amerinds  living,  and  besides,  as  has  been  men- 
tioned, probably  have  a  strong  infusion  of  Pueblo  blood.  While 
the  Navajos  have  gone  farther  in  silver-  and  iron-.smithing,  they 
have  lagged  behind  in  pottery  and  house-building.  So  it  is  also 
with  basketry.  W^iile  the  Pueblos  no  longer  make  boiling-baskets 
or  jugs,  or  at  least,  if  they  do  occasionally  make  them,  they  do  not 
use  them  for  cooking  purposes,  yet  they  produce  some  fine  trays 


I 


1 


( 


i 


I 


!fl 


'>' 


;  :i 


hk 


m 


!:; 


t' 


■vl 


^^\ 


p 


'  I 


92 


Tlic   North-Amc^ricans  of  W'stcrday 


and  bowls.'  Inclination  and  fancy,  as  well  as  necessity,  have 
much  to  do  with  the  development  of  the  arts.  Tribes  might 
attain  a  wonderful  development  politically,  like  the  Iroquois,  and 
yet  possess  hardly  any  proficiency  in  any  art,  while  others,  like 
the  Navajos,  with  .scarcely  any  political  development,  posse.ss 
high  artistic  .skill  in  weaving  and  metal-working,  but  none  in 
pottery.  Great  in  war  and  government  the  Iroquois  certainly 
were,  but  they  had  not  reached  the  border  line  of  artistic  develop- 
ment.    Neither  weavers,  potters,  nor  builders  were  they  (though 

liandelier  main- 
tains that  their 
long-house  was  as 
difficult  of  con- 
struction as  any 
house  the  Pueblos 
build),  and,  ou*.- 
•side  of  the  idea  of 
the  league,  their 
government  was 
not  much  superior 
to  that  of  the 
Pueblos.  Their 
pottery,  limited  in 
quantity,  was 
ver)'  inferior  to 
that  of  ma n  y 
other  Amerinds. 
It  is  probable  that 
following  the  line 
of  race  develop- 
ment they  would  eventually  have  produced  excellent  ware,  but  the 
iron  pot  made  its  appearance  and  progress  in  pottery  was  doomed. 
On  the  North-west  coast  little  or  no  pottery  is  found.  Quality 
and  quantity  increase  as  we  approach  Yucatan. 

Tribes  with  unfavourable  environment  would  find  it  next  to 
impossible  to  acquire  skill  in  pottery.  The  Eskimo,  with  a  tem- 
perature for  the  greater  part  of  the  year  near  or  below  freezing, 

'  See  the  American  Anthropologist,  April,  1894,  vol.  vii.,  "The  Basket 
Drum,"  by  Washinjjjton  Matthews,  as  an  illustration  of  how  a  certain 
specialty  in  an  art  may  survive  after  the  art  itself  is  neglected. 


U.  S.  Bu.  Eth. 

MCCI.Ori)    KIVKK    IIASKK.I 


lAMKORMA 


1^ 


!      W 


MUKI    KOUl)    HASKKl'.       '/^ 


U.  S.  Bu.  F.th. 


i 


« 


ii 


n 


«f 


Kl.AMATII     IIASKF.T,        ^^ 


^^3 


I .. 


f 


i. 


ii;t: 


r  '. 


94 


Tile   North-Americans  of  Yesterday 


and  a  scarcit}-  of  fuel,  would  find  moulding  forms  out  of  wet  clay 
al)out  the  last  occupatiou  to  think  of.  The  Ivskitno,  therefore, 
made  almost  nolhiiii;  of  clay  except  occasiouall\'  a  limp.'  The 
Kutchins  of  the  Yukon  country  make  pots  and  cups  of  clay,  hut 
in  the  main  the  Far  Nortliern  people  rely  on  basketry,  soai^^toue, 
and  on  metallic  ves.sels  obtained  from  the  whites.  Xor  i^  the 
North  land  entirely  favourable  to  basketry,  yet  the  Aleut  lia>kel- 
work  is  exceedingly  fine  in  texture,  .some  of  their  productions 
being  almost  a  cloth.  This  is  specially  true  of  baskets  made  on 
the  island  of  Attn  of  the  Aleutian  cliain.  These  are  ii<u.ill>- 
cylindrical,  sometimes  fitted  with  a  cover  of  the  same  material. 
vSo  soft  and  pliable  are  they  that  they  can  barely  sustain  an  upright 
position.  This  fine  texture  is  a  characteristic  of  all  the  basketry 
of  the  North-west  coast,  Init  there  is  not  much  variety  in  form  and 
the  artistic  shapes  so  common  with  the  Amerinds  .southward  of  the 
Columl)ia  are  absent.  The  decorations  are  similar  to  those  of  other 
Amerinds  and  are  woven  in  with  quills,  grasses,  feathers,  bits  of 
silk,  or  worsteds,  apropriately  coloured.  In  the  interior  of  the 
Northern  lauds,  the  Kniks  and  others  make  a  substitute  for 
biskets  out  of  thin  boards  steamed  and  bent  around  a  flat  bottom 
piece  which  fits  into  a  groove  in  the  board.  It  is  fastened  in  place 
with  split  roots  or  skin  thongs.  Among  the  ICskimo  sealskin 
cups  and  buckets  are  used,  and  some  made  of  whalebone,  but 
they  also  make  a  basket  out  of  coiled  grasses,  which  is  artistic 
and  has  a  variety  of  interesting  forms.  Kast  of  Point  Barrow 
baskets  are  rare.  liirchbark  vessels  of  various  kinds  were  used 
by  many  tribes  as  substitutes  for  baskets,  and  doubtless  .some 
forms  in  pottery  were  derived  from  these  vessels  as  well  as  from 
baskets.  Some  tribes  made  pottery  and  then,  as  circumstances 
changed,  they  abandoned  its  use  and  finally  forgot  how  to  make  it. 
Dor.sey  .states  that  "pottery  has  not  been  made  by  the  Omaha 
for  more  than  fifty  years.  The  art  of  making  it  has  been  for- 
gotten by  the  tribe."  '' 

Various  conditions  might  cause  a  tribe  to  cease  making  pot- 
tery, if  it  were  not  a  .sedentary  trilje.  One  constantly  on  the  move 
would  either  never  learn  to  make  pottery,  or  if,  during  some  seden- 
tary period,  it  had  acquired  this  art  it  would  soon  drop  it,  because 

'  Murdoch  found  fragments  of  a  cookinjjj  pot  at  Point  Barrow. — Ninth 
Ann.  Rept.  Bu.  Eth.,  p.  91.     Rude  cups  were  also  sometimes  made. 
"  Thirteenth  Ann.  Rept.  Bu.  Eth.,  p.  276. 


MOKI    looli    TKAY.      J^, 


t\ 


i     I 


iHiii* 


95 


1'* 


ll 
Ik 


I 


I 


96 


The   North-Americans  of  Yesterday 


in    priniiti\-L'  tr;ivel   l);iskctry  and   gourds  art*  lighter  a'ld   niorj 
st'rvicL'al)le  tli:in  tlvj  crnik'  pottery  they  could  iiroducc.     Thus  it' 

a  tril)e  living  a  com- 
paratively (|uiet  life 
and  developing  the 
pottvr's  art  came  into 
possession  of  the 
horse,  the  pottery 
might  be  abandoned 
because  it  could  not 
readily  be  transported. 
Tliis  would  apply  only 
to  tribes  making  rude 
pottery,  for  where  a 
people  had  attained 
great  proficiency  in  this  direction  they  would  not  give  it  up, 
except,  as  in  the  case  of  Taos,  they  could  purchase  nearby  a 
sufficient  sujiply.  Proficiency  would  only  accompany  a  sedentary 
life,  so  that  great  skill  in  pottery  would  be  a  rather  sure  index  of 


U.  S.  IIm,  Kill, 

I'.sKiMo  w  II ai.kiiiim:  dish 


U.  S.  I'.ii.  Eth 


(1... 1.1. AM    liASKKT,    WASHINGTON.       /g 


l,i 


the  character  and  progress  of  a  people  in  other  directions.     While 
a  people  might  achieve  progress  without  doing  much  in  pottery, 


V 

¥ 


ft' 


I'AI    riK    WAlKk-JI 


V.  S.  liii.  Kth 


MUKl    I'OUO     JKAY.        '4 

A  Mi:  RIM  I    \\  H   Kl   K-\V()KK 

For  an  excellent  review  of  this  subject,  see  "  Basket-work  of  the  North  American  AbnriKines," 
by  Otis  T.  Mason,  Ref>o!t  af  tin-  U.  S.  National  Miin-uui,  Part  II  0/  the  I\if>oyt  0/  the 
Sinithsom'an  Institution  />■  /iS^. 

7  97 


:1 


■ 


I      '  I 


l» 


.1|,. 


98 


The   North-Americans  of  Yesterday 


l: 


if  they  did  excel  in  pottery  it  would  be  an  indicate  )n  of  excellence 
in  other  lines.  Pottery  is  well-nigh  imperishable,  and  therefore  it 
is  often  the  chief  record  that  a  departed  people  has  left  behnul. 
Where  almost  every  other  distinguishing  vestige  has  completely 
disappeared,  we  may  frcquenth*  still  discover  scattered  on  the  sur- 
face fragments  of  pottery,  or  buried  in  the  soil  complete  specimens, 
which  b}'  their  form,  texture,  or  decorative  treatment  tell  what 
manner  of  people  these  were  who  lived  their  lives  and  passed  away ; 
tell  the  limits  of  their  distribution,  and  also  to  what  other  tribes  or 
people  the}'  were  related.  Potterj'  therefore,  next  to  actual  records 
and  inscriptions,  is  probably  the  most  valuable  as  well  as  often 
the  only  kind  of  remains,  that  a  race  has  left. 

Kuropean  pottery  has  long  received  close  attention  from  arch?e- 
ologists,  l)ut  it  is  only  within  recent  years  that  it  has  been  thought 
worth  while  to  study  that  of  the  Western  continent.  Like  the 
other  remains  of  the  Amerinds,  their  pottery  was  not  considered  of 
nuich  importance  b}-  archaeologist?,  and  while  American  money 
and  talent  were  being  bestowed  upon  the  well-worked  luiropean 
field,  our  Amerind  potter}'  was  abandoned  to  the  curiosity  hunter. 
The  artistic  qualities  of  Lhe  Old  World  pottery  fascinated  the 
student,  and  this,  together  with  a  natural  deep  interest  in  peoples 
closely  associated  with  our  own  past,  served  to  obscure  the  real 
value  of  an  investigation  of  the  Amerind  field  for  the  information 
that  might  be  disclosed  concerning  the  character  and  distribution 
of  Amerind  tribes,  for  its  bearing  on  the  history  of  the  ecramic  art 
in  general,  as  well  as  for  its  story  of  primitive  effort  and  invention. 
Pottery  is  said  to  have  been  invented  269.S  years  B.C.  by  the 
Chinese  emperor  Hoang-ti,  but  of  course  it  was  made  by  some 
tribes  long  before  this.  Like  every  other  art,  it  existed  among 
some  tribes,  while  other  tribes  had  no  knowledge  of  it.  There 
was  never  a  time,  and  there  never  will  be  a  time, when  all  people 
possess  an  equal  degree  of  information  or  skill,  so  that  when 
something  has  been  invented  or  discovered  by  one  tribe  or  people 
it  may  have  been  in  use  for  a  long  period  by  another.  At  the  be- 
giiu'.ing  of  the  Columbian  era,  most  of  the  Amerinds  knew  how  to 
make  some  kind  of  earthenware.  Various  methods  were  used 
in  various  places  to  produce  the  pottery.  Some  was  modelled  in 
baskets  or  on  basket  forms,  right  side  up  or  up  side  dow!i  as  hap- 
pened to  be  necessary,  .some  was  modelled  in  a  hole  in  the  ground ,  or 
in  the  lap,  and  still  other  groups  were  produced  b\   coiling  round 


Basketry  and   Pottery 


99 


■e 
[e 
III 
le 

lo 
id 
111 

r 


and  round  slender  ropes  of  clay,  which  were  afterwards  smoothed 
off  or  not  as  suited  the  knowledge  or  desire  of  the  potter.  The  pro- 
gression in  a  general  way  was  probably  about  this  :  i.  Made  on  the 
inside  of  a  wicker  form — confined  chiefly  to  bowls  ;  2.  Made  on  a 
netting  in  a  mould  hole  ;  3.  Coil-made  ;  4.  Free-hand  modelling  ; 
5.  Wheel-made,  which  Amerinds  appear  never  to  have  attained. 
There  was  doubtless  no  sharp  line  of  separation  between  these 
various  processes,  but  they  merged  into  each  other.  The  coil 
process  was  about  the  higliest  de\elopment  of  the  Amerind 
potter's  skill,  and  it  was  in  use  all  over  the  continent.  As 
Holmes  points  out  in  his  admirable  paper,'  the  Pueblos  are  the 
only  people  who  used  the  coil  as  a  means  of  decoration  as  well 
as  cotistruction,  so  far  as  now  known.  All  the  other  potters 
smoothed  the  coils  off  so  that  no  trace  eventually  was  left  of 
them,  and  this  is  the  practice  of  the  modern  Moki  potters. 
They  work  by  no  special  rule.  According  to  my  own  observation, 
the  making  of  potter}'  is  a  desultory  occupation  and  is  done  'uy  the 
women.  Sometimes  I  saw  a  woman  toiling  alone  with  her  ropes 
of  clay,  out-of-doors,  and  again  several  women  would  form  a  gay, 
laughing  party  in  the  sunlight.  When  the  work  is  dry  the  paint- 
ing and  decorating  are  done  by  means  of  a  little,  long,  string-like 
brush  made  of  yucca  fibre.  This  brush  is  like  a  piece  of  coarse 
twine,  about  three  inches  long,  without  a  handle,  very  limber,  and 
apparently  entirely  inadequate,  j-et  they  easily  accomplished  all 
they  desired  to  do  with  it.  In  order  to  turn  the  work  while  in 
process  of  manufacture,  and  not  injure  it  or  destro}'  ils  shape,  it  is 
generally  built  upon  a  wicker  tray.  In  this  way  it  can  l)e  readily 
swung  round  and  round,  a«  the  potter  paj-s  out  the  clay  rope  and 
adjusts  it  in  place.  This  is  the  nearest  approach  to  the  potter's 
wheel  that  seems  ever  to  have  been  known  on  the  American  conti- 
nent. While  many  shapes  are  based  on  some  form  in  basketry,  or 
wood,  or  horn,  or  shell,  or  bark,  a  great  many  are  pure  inventions, 
the  result  of  fancy  or  inclination. 

In  preparing  the  clay,  sand  or  pulverised  potsherds  were  mixed 
with  it  to  temper  it  and  prevent  cracking.  This  was  sometimes  so 
coarse  and  abundant  iii  the  old  pottery  that  in  the  fragments 
picked  up  one  can  frequently  see  large  grains  of  sand. 

All  pottery  of  primitive  races  belongs  to  the  class  known  as  soft 

'  W.  II  Holmes,  Fourth  Ann.  Rept.  Bit.  Etlu,  "  Pottf.'ry  of  the  Ancient 
Pueblos." 


m 


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Hi 


I'll 


,!;• 


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Im    4     ilx 


lOO 


The   North-Americans  of  Yesterday 


pottery,  as  distitiguis'ned  from  what  we  call  stoneware  or  /mrd 
potter}-  ill  its  different  forms.  The  Amerinds  were  no  exception, 
and  all  their  pottery  is  soft  unglazed  ware.'  Thf  reason  for  this 
lies  in  the  fact  that  tb^  njaking  of  hard  pottery  requires  not  only 
an  extetisive  knowh.nlge  ol  the  poperties  of  clay,  but,  what  is  more, 
a  tcr.qxTature  for  firing  of  about  4000'  Fahrenheit. — a  temperature 
which  can  be  oi^tainud  only  in  a  furnace  or  retort,  of  which  Ame- 
rinds were  apparently  iguoraut,  their  pottery  being  burned,  in 


§. 


(\   \\    Nl  CIIM-S 


From  photo  by  the  .TUthnr,  1S84 

MnDI'lIlNC,    AN    oil, A    A'l'    MWn 

Tlie  potter  was  not  awaro  if  heiii^ 
phocographeJ. 


u.  s.  r,ii.  Kth. 

MKrilOI)  (IK  lini.DINC.    VV  LUIL 


:  PI 


historic  and  prehistoric  times,  in  the  open  air.  The  connnon 
modern  method  among  the  Pueblos  is  to  burn  with  sheep  dung, 
but  they  are  said  to  have  used  in  ancient  times  deadwood,  connnon 
wood,  and  :oal.  The  method  was  usually  the  same  in  a.u  cases  ; 
the  ware  was  piled  up  and  then  covered  with  the  fuel  in  such  a 
maimer  that  there  would  be  as  little  as  possible  direct  contact. 
They  also  sometimes  baked  the  ware  in  hot  ashes  with  a  fire 

'  The  Amerind  paste  was  generally  quite  dark,  a  light  surface  cr  lu 
being  obtained  by  a  "  slip."  But  I  have  found  fragments  of  a  pinkish-wn.. . 
ware  in  Arizona  the  same  colour  all  the  way  through. 


Basketry  and   Pottery 


lOI 


above,  and  sometimes  they  dug  a  pit  which  they  lined  with  the 
fuel.  A  rich  shiny  black  ware  was  obtained  in  some  localities  by 
allowing  the  ware  to  come  in  contact  with  the  fuel  and,  at  a  certain 
period  in  the  burning,  smothering  the  fire.  This  produced  an 
apparent  glaze  as  well,  an  effect  obtained  also  bj-  rubbing  aiui 
polishing  l^efore  the  firing.  15ut  there  is  no  true  glazing  in  any 
Amerind  ware,  at  least  not  north  of  Mexico.  Hven  had  they 
known  the  process  they  would  have  been  baffled  in  attempting  to 
put  it  in  practice,  for  glazing  requires  a  temperature  of  at  least 
1300'  Faiiienheit,  and  they  apparently  had  no  means  of  securing 
it.'  All  of  their  ware  can  be  .scratched  with  a  knife,  wliich  is  a 
test  of  .soft  ware,  and  while  .some  of  it  seems  to  have  lustre,  it  is 
the  lustre  of  polish,  not  of  glaze.  vSome  ware,  however,  recently 
found  in  the  Central-American  region  appears  to  have  a  true  glaze. 
Some  tribes  make  a  variety  of  kinds  of  ware,  while  others  confine 
themselves  to  some  special  kind,  and  still  others,  as  mentioned  in 
the  case  of  Taos,  buy  all  they  use  and  make  none.  The  Pueblos 
today  are  extensive  potters,  especially  the  Zunis  and  the  Mokis, 
and  produce  large  quantities  of  varied  ware,  which,  while  .similar 
in  mnny  respects  to  that  of  tlie  ancients  of  the  region,  is  not  so 
fine  nor  so  well  formed.  At  the  Chaco  ruins  Pepper  found  a 
number  of  tube-shaped  vases,  about  four  inches  diameter  and  a 
foot  high,  with  four  .small  perforated  handles.  In  the  course 
of  time  enormous  (juantities  must  have  bt  en  made  in  the  vSoulli- 
west,  for  the  ground  is  everywhere  strewn  with  fragments  of  it. 
This  would  indicate  either  a  dense  population  or  :i  very  long 
occupation  by  a  comparativeh'  .spar.se  one,  and  thus  far  the  evi- 
dence is  in  favour  of  the  latter  hypothesis.  In  such  a  dry  climate 
as  exists  in  the  vSouth-west,  even  soft  potlerj'  is  almost  indestruct- 
il)le  when  not  e-:posed  to  river  or  ice  action.  In  such  cases  it 
would  soon  be  destroyed.  Tliough  the  Colorado  River  runs 
through  the  length  of  the  ancient  Pueblo  country,  and  receives 
many  branches  whose  valleys,  like  its  own,  reveal  myriads  of 
frngments,  I  never  found  a  specimer  in  the  river  gravels.  If 
this  is  the  ca.se,  how  could  v/e  expect  to  find  remains  of  pottery  in 
glacial  drift  ? 

Another  kind  of  pottery  has  lately  been  found  by  Lumholtz  at 
Teuchitlan,  State  of  Jalisco,  Mexico.     It  is  a  sort  of  cloi.sonne, 

'  The  earthenware  of  the  (Greeks  and  Romans  was  not  glazed,  but  cot- 
ered  with  wax,  bitumen,  etc. 


m 


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('I 

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1 02  The   North- Americans  of  YestL-rday 

apparently  made  by  firing  the  ])lain  ware  and  then  applying  a 
thick  slip  which,  when  dry,  was  engraved  with  a  pattern  down  to 

the  baked  surface. 
The  parts  cut 
away  were  then 
snioothh'  filled  in 
with  a  white  paste 
and  with  paste  of 
other  colours,  pro- 
ducing some  ex- 
cellent effects. 
Another  firing 
then  fixed  the  su- 
perimposed paste. 
There  are  nu- 
merous specimens 
in  the  American 
Museum. 

The  valley  of 
the  Mississippi  is 
as  prolific  in  its  yield  of  pottery  as  the  South-west,  though  most  of  it 


U.  S.  r.u.  Kth. 

WAKK    l-ROM    MOKI     RKiiloN, 


AKl/oNA.         U, 


U.  S.  P.11.  F.tli. 

WAKK    IKilM    MOKI     KICloN.     AKI/O.NA.        ', 


is  found  in  mounds.     It  has  therefore  been  attributed  to  a  departed 
and  mysterious  race  which  has  been  called    "  Moundbuilder." 


Haskctry  ami    Pottery 


103 


These  nionnds,  however,  were  clearly  the  work  of  (Hffereiit  tribes 
and  were  erected  for  different  purposes,  and  there  is  no  evidence  to 
show  that  the  build- 
ers were  not  Ame- 
rinds, similar  to 
trihc-s  that  were  en- 
countered by  our 
people.  True,  some  »;1 
of  these  tribes  or 
stocks  may  have  be- 
come extinct  before 
whites  entered  the 
region,  for  tribes 
rose  to  power,  dwin- 
dled, a  n  d  disap- 
peared, but  that  does 
not  prove  that  they 
were  an V thing  but 
Amerinds,    even  cip  irum  ar./.ona.     y^ 

though  they  may  have  developed  qualities  and  arts  not  practised 
by  Amerinds  we  have  known.  That  there  are  some  marked  differ- 
ences between 
some  of  the  so- 
called  Mound- 
builder  ware  ami 
some  other  Ame- 
rind pottery  is 
freely  admitted, 
but  why  this 
.should  indicate 
that  there  was 
au}'  m  y  s  t  e  r  y 
about  the  former 
is  not  intelli- 
gible, for  there 
are  many  differ- 
ences in  the  pro- 
ducts of  existing 

tribes  and  stocks.'     As   has   been    mentioned,    the    Pueblos  are 
'  With  all  the  ditfertnces,  however,  an   e.\atniii;itioii  <if  jiottery   Iroiu 


VASK     1  RUM      .ARKANSAS,     SlIOXSlM.     LINKS     MADK    WITH    .V 
.SllART    roINT    III'.IURK    lIKlNd.        'j 


1; 

! 


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!■• 


i; 


104 


The   North-Americans  of  Yesterday 


extremely  good  potters,  wliile  their  neighbours  the  Navajos 
practicalh'  are  no  potters  at  all.  Had  the  Pueljlos  become  ex- 
tinct before  the  appearance  of  the  ICuropean,  what  a  fine  chance 
this  would  have  been  to  speculate  on  who  these  mysterious 
and  departed  people  were  who  built  superior  houses  of  stone  and 
made  splendid  pottery  !  Oh  no,  they  could  never  have  been  com- 
mon "  Indians,"  they  must  have  been  a  migration  from  China,  or 
Japan  !  Unfortunately  for  writers  of  the  ronwntic  school,  the 
Pueblo  is  still  there,  and  he  is  an  ordinary  Amerind,  in  some  ways 
hardl}'  as  intelligent  as  his  neighbour  who  makes  no  pottery  and 
builds  no  houses.  There  is  no  reason,  then,  for  assuming  that 
there  was  anything  extraordinary  about  any  of  the  former  occu- 
pants of  the  Mississippi  valley.  They  were,  at  least  some  of  tliem 
were,  skilful  potters,  and  some  had  sense  enough  to  dig  out  copper 
and  hannner  it  into  shapes  ;  but  what  is  there  in  this  that  should 
lead  us  lo  exalt  them  above  other  Amerinds  ?  Progress  in  the  arts 
may  vary  among  associated  stocks,  and  also  among  different 
branches  of  the  same  stock.  In  the  Mississippi-valley  pottery 
there  was  a  tendency  toward  upright  bottle-shaped  vessels  with 
long  necks,  while  the  tendency  of  the  Pueblo  ware  is  in  the  direc- 
tion of  the  bowl.  There  are  also  long  tray-like  vessels  in  the  Mis- 
sissippi valley,  which  do  not  occur  at  all  amongst  the  Pueljlo  ware, 
and  there  are  more  animal  shapes,  birds,  etc.  A  series  of  the 
Mississippi-valley  forms  suggests  a  knowledge  of  the  wheel,  but 
it  is  not  likely  that  they  had  it,  though  it  is  possible.  Anyone 
who  has  watched  the  progress  of  a  conunon  jug  turning  on  one  of 
our  potter's  wheels,  m  st  be  .struck  by  the  series  of  fine  shapes  the 
lump  of  clay  passes  through  before  assuming  its  last  form.  Such 
a  progression  appears  in  the  Mississi[)pi  valle}'  ware,  but  these 
jars  were  all  probably  made  by  the  "  coil"  process,  which  was 
still  in  use  in  the  Mississippi  valley  after  the  advent  of  our  people. 
Holmes  states  positively  :  "  The  wheel  or  lathe  has  not  been 
used."  '  The  potter\'  of  Chiriqui,  a  province  near  Panama,  is  re- 
markable for  perfection  of  finish  and  execution  and  a  similar 
suggestion  of  mechanical  aids.  In  this  case  Holmes  says  :  "  Not- 
withstanding the  fact  that  only  primitive  methods  were  known, 

all  over  North  America  will  couviuce  any  close  observer  of  its  general 
homogeneity. 

'  W.  H.  Holmes.  "Ancient  Pottery  of  the  Mississippi  Valley,"  Foityth 
Anu.  Rcpt.  Bh.  I-:t/i.,  \).  372. 


■ 


Basketry  ami   Pottery 


105 


there  is  a  parallelism  with  wheel- made  ware  that  cannot  l)Ut 
strike  the  student  with  amazement.  So  i;reat  is  the  synnnetry 
and  so  graceful  are  tlie  shapes  that  one  is  led  to  suspect  the  em- 
ployment of  mechanical  devices  of  a  hi,i;h  c^rdur."  ' 

The  high-necked  Mound- 
builder  bottle  is  rarely  found 
in  other  parts  of  the  United 
vStates,  but  it  occurs  in  Mexico 
and  in  vSouth  America.  Ladles, 
connnon  in  Puel^lo  ware,  are 
of  rare  occurrence  in  that 
of  the  Moundbuilders,  while 
rectangular  box  like  vessels 
are  found,  which,  though  rare, 
are  of  wide  distribution.  One 
remarkable  object  found  in 
Tetniessee  is  an  earthenware 
burial  casket  formed  of 
two  parts,  a  body  and 
a  lid,  and   it    still  ^-; 

bears  marks  of 
the  baking. 
It  contains 
the  remains  of 
a  small  child, 
reduced  to 
dust,  except 
portions  of 
the  skull  and 
limbs;  and 
two  or  three 
dozen  small 
shell  beads.  It 
weighs  alto- 
gether 12^  pounds.  Another  peculiar  vessel  was  shaped  like  a  shal- 
low trough,  with  a  flat  lip  or  projection  at  each  end.  While  there 
was  undoubtedl}-  in  all  tribes  a  certain  progression  of  forms  based  on 
those  of  basketr}',  etc. ,  as  before  noted,  it  must  not  be  forp:otten  that 

'  W.  H.  Holmes,  "Ancient  Art  of  the  Province  of  Cbiriqui,"  Si.i-th  Ann, 
Rept,  Bh.  Eth,,  p.  56. 


U.  S.  Bu.  Kth. 

liOl  ri.K-.-ilIAl'Kl)    VASK,    ARKANSAS. 


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Tlic   North-Americans  of  Ycstt^rchi)' 


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the  Amerind,  like  all  other  humati  beinj^s,  did  some  things  from  pure 
inspiration  or  invention  and  with  no  previous  model  of  any  kind. 
The  Mississippi  valley,  according  to  Holmes,  may  be  divided 
into  three  districts  as  far  as  the  pottery  is  concerned  :  the  upper, 
the  middle,  and  the  lower  districts.  This  would  seem  to  ijidicate 
as  many  different  tribes  or  stocks,  or  even  different  periods  of 
occupancy  In-  either  the  same  stock  or  by  different  stocks.  The 
most  northerly  examples  are  the  rudest  and  most  different  from 


U.  S.  Bu.  Kth. 

I'lARTlIKN     \VAR1-:    IIIKIAI,    CASKKl',    ■ri'.NM'.SSKi:.        '4 

the  others.  Some  of  ihe  pottery  that  is  advanced  as  showing  a 
skill  in  sculpture  not  possessed  b\'  Amerinds  of  the  North  can  be 
explained  in  another  way  than  b}-  assuming  that  the  makers 
were  different  from  other  Amerinds  of  the  Mississippi  valley  as  we 
have  k  "own  them.  As  I  pointed  out  elsewhere,'  these  head-shaped 
vases  are  death-masks.'     It  does  not  require  a  second  look  at  the 

'  F.  vS.   Delleiibaut^li,   "Death-Masks   in    Ancient   American    Pottery," 
Atucrhaii  .hit/iro/yoloi^isf,  February,  iSgj. 

^  In  this  connection  it  mav  be  nieiUioned  that  .Swallow  found  a  human 


I 


Basketry  and   I'ottcry 


lo; 


illustration  below  to  see  that  the  features  are  those  of  death  re- 
produced in  a  manner  that  no  aboriginal  potter  could  possibly 
accomplish  by  free-hand  method.  "  Here  we  look  on  a  face  per- 
fect in  its  proportions,  accurately  modelled,  and,  alcove  all,  de- 
picting death  with  a  master-hand  ;  yes,  more,  presenting  to  the 
spectator  death  itself  as  it  seized  this  personage  in  the  long-for- 
gotten past.     Here  is  death  present  with  us  as  plainly  as  it  is  in 


U.  S.  Rii.  F.th 


:i 


ii 


It 


\ 


11 

^  I  ill 

y 


k 


■Ill  fl 


I>K  \I'1I-M.\SK'    VASK,     TKNNKSSF.K. 


the  well-preserved  features  of  an  Egyptian  nuunmy.  .  .  .  Soft 
clay  was  pressed  upon  the  dead  featutes,  and  when  sufficiently  dry 
it  was  removed  and  other  soft  clay  thinly  pressed  into  the  mould 
obtained.  The  mask  thus  made  was  built  upon  till  the  jar  before 
us  was  completed.  .  ,  .  The  interior  of  the  wall  follows  the 
exterior  closely  except  in  projecting  features.  The  potter,  finding 
it  difficult  as  well  as  unnecessary,  to  work  the  clay  evenly  into  the 

skull  enclosed  in  an  earthen  jar,  the  opening  ol  which  was  too  small  to 
admit  of  the  skull's  extraction. 


U 


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V' 


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f 


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I, 


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1 08 


The   North- Americans  of  Vcstenhiy 


projections  of  the  nioiikl,  filled  them  up  more  or  less  solidly." 
This  vase  is  five  inches  in  height  and  five  inches  wide  from  ear  to 
ear.  It  is  open  at  the  top,  and  has  a  perforated  knob  over  the  middle 
of  the  forehead,  perhaps  for  attaching  a  head-dress,  and  the  ears 
are  perforated.  These  holes  al.so  would  permit  cords  to  be  attached, 
b}-  which  the  jar  could  be  hung,  probably  in  a  dead-house  where 
the  body  of  the  deceased  original  was  laid.  It  has  been  stated  that 
the  features  exhibited  in  this  vase  are  not  "  Indian,"  but  there 
seems  to  be  no  ground  for  such  a  statement.  The  features  are  ap- 
parently those  of  an  Amerind  boy  fourteen  or  sixteen  }  ears  uf  age. 
Of  the  basketry  of  the  Mississippi  valley  there  are,  of  course, 
no  ancient  specimens.  Wicker-work  would  not  last  long  in  that 
climate;  but  there  must  have  been  baskets  and  plaited  implements 
of  various  kinds,  because  people  do  not  make  pottery  without 
passing  through  the  basketry  stage.  The  Amerinds  of  that  region 
also  made  good  baskets  when  first  met  with,  and  we  know  that 
they  did  some  fairlj*  good  weaving  both  in  ancient  and  modern 
times.  Some  of  the  ancient  fabrics  have  been  preserved  in  the 
mounds  by  contact  with  copper,  by  being  charred,  and  in  other 
waj'S,  and  the  ingenuity  of  Hohnes  has  given  us  fac-si miles  of 
some  of  the  old  netting.'  He  noticed  curious  markings  on  certain 
fragments  of  pottery,  and  took  clay  casts  of  them,  thus  producing 
positive  from  negative,  and  revealing  the  fact  that  the  peculiar 
markings  were  the  impressions  of  fabrics.  He  believes  these 
fabrics  were  impressed  on  the  ware  for  purposes  of  ornament,  and 
while  this  may  in  .some  instances  have  been  the  reason,  in  my 
opinion,  the  chief  object  of  the  netting  that  made  the  impres- 
sion was  to  lift  the  freshly  made  jar  out  of  a  hole  or  a  wicker 
form  where  it  had  been  modelled.  Very  early  pottery  was 
doubtless  built  on  or  in  wicker-work  —  that  is,  earl\-  in  the 
practice  of  any  particular  tribe.  This  was  specially  the  case 
with  the  Amerinds  of  the  Atlantic  coast,  as  is  plainly  indi- 
cated in  the  casts  made  Ijn^  Holmes  from  fragments  of  pottery 
from  that  region.  "  The  earlier  potters  probably  used  baskets 
that  came  up  to  the  curved-in  part  of  the  jar,  which  was  continued 
above  the  basket  bN--  deft  handling,  or,  if  a  basket  of  the  same 
form  was  followed,  the  basket  was  destroyed  in  the  firing  process. 


'\V.  H. 
Bu.   Eth.; 
Bu.  Eth. 


Holmes,    "Prehistoric  Textile   Fabrics,"    Third  Ann.  Rcpt. 
Ibid.,    "Prehistoric    Textile    Art,"     Thirteenth  Aun.   kept. 


!< 


Jkiski'tr)-  and    Pottery 


l(K) 


U.  S.  Hii.  Ktli. 

l-l.l   IKI)    \  ASK,    ARKANSAS. 


This  would  seem  to  the  modern  mind  a  great  waste  of  time  and 
material,  hut  it  must  l)e  remembered  that  tlie  Indian  potter  had 
not  learned  modern  haste,  and 
besidfc.j  could  turn  up  a  coarse 
basket  in  a  very  short  time. 
Therelore  it  does  not  seem  im- 
}M-ol)able  that  he  may,  in  the 
early  stages,  have  modelled  his 
jar  on  the  iiisiih'  of  a  basket 
frame  of  similar  form  and  then 
allowed  the  basket  to  be  con- 
sumed in  the  baking  process 
when  it  could  not  be  .separated 
from  the  vessel.  Kven  when 
he  developed  to  a  point  beyond 
and  modelled  the  upper  por- 
tions with  a  free  hand,  he  would 
find  great  trouble  in  separat- 
ing his  jar  from  its  framework. 
What,  therefore,  would  be  the 

following  step?  It  seems  to  me  it  would  have  been  the  placing 
between  the  chi)'  and  the  mould  of  a  piece  of  netting,  which  would 
permit  him  to  lift  out  his  jar  easily  and  intact,  and  transport  it  to 
the  drying  place.  He  would  then  .speedily  discover  that  his  bas- 
ket was  not  necessary  — was 
V  '^-    'iF--  'Js'  ^     not  so  serviceable,  in  fact,  as 

a  hole  in  the  ground,  for  the 
sides  of  the  hole  could  be 
plastered  with  a  layer  of  very 
sandy  clay,  and  thus  would 
all  sticking  of  the  vessel  to 
its  mould  be  avoided.  The 
netting,  or  fabric,  having 
been  spri  ad  as  evenly  as  pos- 
sible o\  -1  Jie  inside  surface 
of  the  mould  hole,  the  upper 
edges  were  allowed  to  lie  out 
upon  the  ground.  The  soft  clay  being  now  pressed  evenly  upon 
the  fabric  to  the  required  thickness,  the  .sandy  surface  of  the  mould 
hole  easily  gave  it  shape,  and  gave  the  potter  no  anxiety  about  the 


U.  S.  Hu.  Eth. 

IMl'KI'.SSIoN    OK    I'AK'I'S    OK    HASKKT 
Mori. I)    <iN    I'OTTKKV 


yl: 


i 


111 


'^f 


'11 


r  t  m 


1 1 


I  lo  1  he   Nortli-Aim-ricans  of  N'csKjrday 

outside  surfiiix'.  Iiulcc*!,  lie  hail  but  one  surface  to  watch  till  he 
came  to  the  iii-curve,  if  his  vessel  was  to  have  a  narrow  mouth. 
Then,  I  surmise,  he  built  up  roU};hly  a  clay  mould,  well  sanded, 
pressing  what  was  left  of  his  fabric  into  the  inside  of  this  moidd  as 
he  built  his  vessel  upward.  I-'retjuently,  doubtless,  the  fabric  was 
not  sullicient  to  go  to  the  top,  which  explains  why  sometimes  only 
a  part  of  a  jar  shows  the  coril  markinj^s,  .  .  .  The  distorting; 
and  overlapi)ing  of  the  meshes  observed  by  Holmes  wer:^  prob- 
ably due  to  the  gathering  in  to  fit  the  interior  of  the  mould,  for  it 
must  be  l)orne  in  mind  that  the  fabric  was  not  shaped  in  any  way 
to  fit  the  moidd,  but  was  doul)tless  a  fragment  of  some  squarely 
woven  article.  Thus  gathering  and  overlapping  were  necessary  to 
make  it  conform  to  the  inside  surface  of  the  mould. 

"  When  cour.se  basketr.v  was  used  for  a  mould  that  was  in- 
tended to  be  removed  before  firing,  the  interstices  of  the  basket 
work  were  prol)al)ly  rubbed  full  of  a  mixture  of  sand  and  clay  to 
prevent  the  finished  vessel  from  .sticking  or  catching,  which  ex- 
plains, I  think,  the  peculiarity  of  desigti  in  .some  cases,  for  only 
the  more  prominent  features  of  the  ba.sket  work  would  impress  the 
vessel.  .  .  .  In  some  kinds  of  basketry  more  filling  was  neces- 
sary than  in  others,  which  explains  the  frec^uent  greater  .separation 
and  irregularity  of  the  markings."  ' 

It  .seem.s,  then,  that  the  pottery  of  the  Atlantic  region  was 
very  rude  and  was  modelled  chiefly  on  wicker  moulds,  and  was 
not  abundant"  ;  that  the  lower  Mi.ssi.ssippi  valley  and  the  vSouth- 
west  were  the  regions  within  the  United  States  where  pottery 
attained  its  highest  development  ;  that  as  one  proceeds  northward 
pottery  diminishes  in  quantity  and  in  quality  till  it  disappears  ; 
and  that  in  a  .southerly  direction  it  increases  in  abundance  and 
in  excellence  of  manufacture  and  artistic  design.  The  pottery 
area  is  fan-shaped,  with  Central  America  for  a  handle.  This  would 
all  appear  to  indicate  that  the  pottery  wave  rolled  up  from  the  Far 
vSouth,  and  that  the  Moundbuilders  and  the  Pueblos  acquired 
their  art  from  that  direction,  or  brought  it  north  as  they  came  on 
the  retreat  of  the  cold.     Attempts  have  been  made  to  connect  the 

'  F.  vS.  Dellenhauj^^h,  "  Fabric  -  Marked  Pottery,"  Popular  Science 
Monthly,  ^Marcli.  1S9S. 

Mirititon  states  that  the  art  of  the  potter  was  extensively  practised  by 
the  Lenape,  but  if  this  were  accurate  fra^nnents  of  pottery  ought  to  be  com- 
moner than  they  are  in  the  region  formerly  their  home. 


Basketry  and   Pottery 


III 


Pueblos  with  i\\v  MonndhuiUk'rs,  and  both  with  the  A  ,  but 

there  is  no  ^ood  evidence  now  known  which  Mibst;uitiates  any 
such  claim.  Ivven  if  tliey  did  come  fntin  the  South,  it  does  not 
make  a  mystery  nor  does  it  necessaril>'  prove  any  direct  relation- 
ship between  these  branches  of  the  Amerind  race.  Those  nearest 
the  great  culture  centre  accjuired  most  culture,  hence  the  farther 


U.  S.  Bii,  Kth. 
VASK    IKd.M    ClllRKjri. 


11- 


DKCOUAIKI)    IN    lil.AriC,    KKD,    AND    I'l'Urr.E 


north  the  less  pottery.  The  homoj^eneity  of  the  Amerituls  was 
due  to  cau.ses  operating  on  this  continent  at  a  very  early  period, 
and  the  same  causes  may  explain  why  the  Moundbuilder,  tlie 
Pueblo,  and  the  Southern  stocks  were  good  potters,  while  the 
Algonquins,  the  Dakotas,  the  Athapascans,  and  other  Northern 
stocks  were  so  inferior  in  this  respect,  while  not  being  inferior  in 
others. ' 

The  Aztecs,  Zapotecs,  Mayas,  and  other  people  of  the  Mexican 

'  Compare  Preface  and  last  cliapter. 


' 


I 


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m 


M   I 


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M 


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t  i 


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W 


If, 


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:(' 


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fi.i 


tr]  111 


-1 


ri2  Tlu;   North-Americans  of  W'stt;rcla)' 

region  were  expert  potters  ;  and  it  was  in  this  rej;;ion  that  workinj^' 
in  cla}',  like  everythini^  else,  was  carried  to  the  highest  degree  of 
perfection  on  this  continent,  and  where  evidence  is  fonnd  of  seem- 
ingly true  glaze.  Xot  only  ordinary  pottery  of  beautifnl  shapes 
and  excellent  textnre  was  niadC;  hnt  large  fnneral  vases  of  elabo- 
rate form,  terra-cotta  water-pipes,  and  terra-cotla  figures,  some  of 
them  of  almost  or  t[nite  life  si/e.  vSaville  recently  found  some 
of  these  fnneral  jais  and  terra-cotta  figures  in  the  Zapotec 
connir}',  south  of  the  city  of  Mexico,  ii".  liie  province  of  Oaxaca, 
and  there  are  specimens  in  ^die  Museum  of  Xalnral  History  in 
New  York.  The  principal  verra-cotta  hgnre  he  fonnd  is  thus  de- 
scribed by  vSaville  '  :  "  Another  trench  was  started  at  the  eastern 
side  of  this  mound,  and  alter  working  down  to  the  level  of  the 
surroiuiding  fields  near  the  centre  of  the  mound  just  back  of  the 
tomb,  there  were  found  tlie  scattered  fragments  of  what  will  be, 
when  restored,  the  largest  specimen  of  terra  colta  ever  found  in 
America,  and  1  do  not  know  of  so  large  a  .specimen  ever  having 
been  found  elsewhere.  It  represented  a  warrior,  and  the  difTtjrent 
pieces  of  the  figure  were  scattered  over  a  .space  of  about  fifteen 
feet.  The  central  fragment  was  the  he;.d,  upper  torso,  and  right 
arm,  lying  face  upward  ;  the  open  mouth  revealed  the  teeth 
painted  white  and  filed,  as  in  the  case  of  the  funeral  urns.  The 
eyes  were  weli  modelled  and  painted  white  and  red;  the  head  was 
covered  with  Ti  turl)an  of  feathers,  somewhat  rL-sembling  the  head- 
dress of  Chac  Mol,  found  by  Dr.  Le  Plongeon  in  Yucatan.  A 
closely  cropped  beard  covered  the  lower  portion  of  the  face,  the 
ui)psr  part  being  pitted  as  though  marked  by  smallpox.  The  ears 
iiad  curious  circular  .ornaments  pendent  by  a  string  passed  through 
holes  pierced  in  the  lobes.  The  nose  was  ornamented  with  a  long 
cylindrical  bead  attached  1)y  a  string  fastened  at  the  top  and  bot- 
tom through  th'::  septum.  Tiie  breast  was  painted  red  and  wli''.e 
and  additionally  ornamented  with  curious  designs  made  by  circular 
indentations.  The  legs,  which  lay  quite  separated  from  the  body, 
were  bare,  and  the  feet  were  covered  with  sandals  having  beautiful 
heel-pieces.  Around  each  ankle  was  a  line  of  bells.  Both  the 
toe-  and  the  finger-nails  were  painted  wh'te  ;  the  right  arm,  bent 
at  an  t  ngle,  grasped  a  pole  •■•r  staff  of  which  about  a  foot  remained. 
These  fragments  are  now  in  the  Museo  Nacional,  City  of  Mexico. 

'  M.  H,  Saville,  "  Kxploratioti  of  Zapotecaii  Tombs  iu  Southern  Mexico," 
American  Anthropologht^  N.  S.,  April,  1S99. 


"3 


III 


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114 


The   North- Americans  of  Yesterday 


The  entire  length  of  the  figure,  according  to  measurements  made 
of  the  detached  pieces,  was  nearly,  if  not  quite,  six  feet." 

The  specimen  now  in  the  New  York  Museum,  page  1 13,  is  about 
five  feet  in  height,  and  while,  artistically,  it  is  crude,  it  exhibits 
great  skill  in  the  potter's  art.  Tlie  walls  are  thin  and  it  n^ust 
have  taken  nuicli  labour  to  build  the  figure  and  successfully  fire  it. 
It  is  in  three  parts.  Tliere  are  also  in  the  Museum  several  of  the 
funeral  urns  found  in  this  locality.      Thev  aic  >ibout   fifteen  or 


U.  S.  Rii.  Rth. 


con,   INDENTED    FOR   DECORATION 


twenty  inches  high  and  skilfully  made.  These  urns  were  found 
"  in  .series  of  five  in  front  of  toml)S,  on  the  roof,  or  fastened  into  the 
fagade."  The}'  are  usually  of  grotesque  design  like  most  of  the 
Amerind  figures,  and  evidently  represent  personages  arrayed  in 
the  regalia  of  certain  orders  or  societies,  or  possibly  the  same  per- 
.sonage  in  his  various  offices,  or  attended  by  representations  of 
other  officers  of  some  society  to  which  he  belonged.  Saville  vsays 
of  one  group  :  "  Resting  directly  on  the  cement  floor  at  the  centre 
of  the  mound  were  five  large  funeral  urns,  page  115,  representing 
seated  figures,  placed  in  a  row  facing  west.  The  urn  in  the  centre 
has  a  remarkably  well-modelled  face,  undoubtedly  a  portrait  of  some 


■ 


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II  t' 


If 

"in 

i 

i 

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ill 


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ii6  The  North-Americans  of  Yesterday 

ancient  Zapotecan  personage.  The  two  on  either  side  are  of  tli^ 
same  general  size  and  character,  with  the  exception  of  the  face, 
which  is  covered  with  a  mask  in  the  form  of  a  grotesc(ue  face,  pos- 
sibly the  conventionalised  serpent,  as  the  bifnrcaled  tongue  is  one 
of  the  most  prominent  characteristics."  '     These  are  some  of  the 


V.  S.  l!u.  Eth. 
r(.)T    .SIIUWIXU     IHACONAT,     (IRi  lOVKS     AlKi  ISS 
Tin'.    HANI)    IN    SM()()rillN(;     11'.        '  ,'. 


•rilK     LINKS    OK    Tin-    (Oil.    MA1>K   BV 


most  important  terra-cotta  productions  e\er  found  on  this  conti- 
nent. Some  terra-cotta  tubing  also  found  at  this  place  is  unique. 
vSaville  says:  "No  such  terra-cotta  tubing  has  ever  been  dis- 
covered elsewhere  in  Mexico,  and  a  new  problem  is  therefore  pre- 
sented." One  end  of  this  tubing  was  three  feet  below  the  surface 
Ki nitriiini  ^Intliropolot^ist,  N.  vS.,  1S99,  i.,  ]).  -^55. 


I 


I 


I; 


i    :^  ts 


X    <    S 


o  s 


2   o 


X    E 


n  ^ 


¥'  1  :• 


'ii8  The  North  Americans  of  Yesterday 

in  a  field,  while  the  other  was  in  the  mound  excavated.  "  It  was 
laid  in  short  sections,  of  varying  length,  one  end  being  smaller 
than  the  other,  the  small  end  of  one  tube  being  fitted  into  the  large 
end  of  the  next,  page  1 17.  Several  of  the  joints  still  preserved  the 
cement  with  which  they  were  made  tight.     The  exploration  did 


U.  S.  Bii.  Eth. 
ruEHi-o  roT. 


I'ATTKRN   PRODUCKD    BY   OHLIPKRA  TINC.    I'INCH   MARKS.       ^ 


not  reveal  the  use  of  the  pipe."  The  fact,  however,  that  the 
tubes  were  so  carefully  fitted  into  each  other  with,  apparently,  the 
joinings  all  on  the  down  slope,  that  is,  connected  in  such  a  way 
that  water  would  flow  continuously  without  waste,  and  that  the 
joints  were  made  tight  with  cement,  is  good  evidence  that  these 


' 


: 


Basketry  and   Pottery 


119 


pipes  were  laid  for  conducting  water.  It  seems  probable  that  this 
tubing  was  a  part  of  some  water-supply  or  irrigating  scheme, 
which  had  been  abandoned  before  the  mound  covering  a  part  of  it 
was  constructed.  As  the  valley  where  tliese  interesting  finds  were 
made,  as  well  as  neighbouring  valleys,  contain  many  more  mounds, 
it  is  probable 
that  the  future 
exploration  o  f 
them  will  pro- 
duce much  more 
material  of 
value.  If  the 
terra-cotta  tub- 
ing had  a  my- 
thological 
significance  i  t 
will  be  found  in 
other  mounds, 
and  if  it  be- 
longed to  an  ir- 
rigating scheme, 
or  water-works, 
it  will  be  ex- 
plained by  other 
finds.  Effigy  jars  were  not  confined  to  Mexico,  for  they  are 
found  in  various  parts  of  the  United  States,  especially  in  Ten- 
nessee, but  they  are  nowhere  anything  like  those  described  from 
the  Zapotec  country.  The  Tennessee  specimens  artistically  and 
mechanically  are  exceedingly  crude,  as  are  all  attempts  to  de- 
lineate the  human  figure  by  the  northerly  Amerinds.  Some  of  the 
most  elaborate  and  at  the  same  time  artistic  forms  in  Amerind 
pottery  are  found  in  Chiriqui,'  a  province  just  below  Costa  Rica. 
The  old  occupants  of  this  region  .^^^em  to  have  excelled  in  metal- 
working,  stone-carving,  and  pottery,  and  probably  in  other  arts 
the  products  of  which  are  of  a  more  destructible  nature.  As  the 
line  of  demarkation  between  the  North-  and  South-American  cul- 
tures runs  along  the  southern  side  of  Nicaragua,  practically  on 
the  line  of  the  proposed  Nicaragua  Canal,  the  consideration  of  the 

'  W.  H.  Holmes,  "  Ancient  Art  of  the  Province  of  Chiriqui,"  Sixth  Ann. 
Rept.  Bu.  Eth. 


U,  S.  Bu.  Eth. 


I'INCH-MARKF.n   COIL 


f!^ 


3 


120  The   North-Americans  of  Yesterday 

Chiriqui  products  should  belong  perhaps  with  the  South-American 
division,  but  being  above  the  isthmus,  they  may  be  mentioned  here 
for  the  sake  of  comparison.  "  The  casual  observer,"  says  Holmes, 
"  would  at  once  arrive  at  the  conclusion  that  the  wheel  or  moulds 
had  been  used,  but  it  is  impossible  to  detect  the  use  of  any  such 

appliances."  And 
further  :  "  On  the  ex- 
posed surfaces  of  cer- 
tain groups  of  ware 
the  polish  is  in  many 
cases  so  perfect  that 
casual  observers  and 
inexperienced  per.sons 
take  it  for  a  glaze."  ' 
There  was  extraordi- 
nary variety  in  this 
ware.  There  are 
whistles,  drums,  rat- 
tles, round  vases  with 
necks  and  without 
necks;  vases  of  simple 
and  vases  of  complex 
form  ;  vases  and  jars 
with  elaborate 
handles  ;  vases  with 
annular  bases  or  feet  ; 
and  vases  with  short  or  long  legs,  three  in  number  generally. 
This  field  is  so  rich  that  it  is  practicable  to  give  here  only  a  sug- 
gestion of  what  it  affords,  and  the  reader  is  referred  to  the  admir- 
able paper  by  Holmes.' 

In  the  matter  of  decoration  there  is  found  a  general  similarity 
of  methods  in  the  different  regions.  Apparently  the  first  decora- 
tions were  the  unavoidable  result  of  methods  of  manufacture, 
whether  moulded  or  coil-made.  In  the  first  instance  the  meshes  of 
the  wicker  mould,  or  such  part  of  them  as  could  not  easily  be  cov- 
ered up  with  a  sandy  paste  to  prevent  adhesion,  impressed  them- 
selves upon  the  soft  clay  ;  or  the  fabric  that  was  employed  to 
remove  the  work  from  a  mould  made  impressions  upon  the  ware. 

'  W.  H.  Holmes,  "  Ancient  Art  of  the  Province  of  Chiriqui,"  Sixth  Ann. 
Rept.  Bii.  Eth. 


U.  S.  Bii.  Eth. 

KNCRAVKI)  WARK,  ARKANSAS. 


. 


Basketry  and  Pottery 


121 


If  coil-made,  the  pinching  of  the  clay  rope  into  position  left  marks 
of  the  finger-tips  and  the  finger-nails  with  a  regularitj'  that  doubt- 
less came  to  be  admired  and  then  modified  to  conform  to  fancy, 
and  finally  finger  markings  and  other  markings  and  indentations 
grew,  especially  in  our  South-west,  into  a  regular  system  of  deco- 
ration. The  irregularity  due  to  pinching  the  rope  in  place  is  less 
with  the  expert  than  it  was  with  the  primitive  potters,  and  it  is 


>¥::,    ^ 


■}P|' 


U.  S.  Bu.  Eth. 


ENGRAVED   WARE,    ARKANSAS.       i^ 


now  smoothed  off  entirely  with  a  "  rib,"  the  left  hand  being  placed 
opposite  the  pressure  applied  with  the  right.'  In  the  earlier  forms 
the  fingers  of  the  right  hand  held  stiffly  downward  seem  to  have 
been  used  to  even  up  the  irregularity  of  the  coils  to  some  extent, 
as  may  be  discerned  in  figure  page  ii6,  where  there  are  diagonal 
grooves  across  the  lines  of  the  coil,  evidently  made,  the  left  hand 
being  inside  the  jar,  by  drawing  the  fingers  of  the  right,  or  rather 
the  forefinger  braced  against  the  others,  diagonally  upward  upon 
the  outer  surface.  The  operation  would  Ije  almost  identical  with 
the  modern  practice  except  that  the  fiiigers  were  used  instead  of 
a  "  rib."     Indentations  were  also  made  with  a  sharp  instrument 

'  Rib  is  the  term  applied  by  our  potters  to  the  small  thin  pieces  of  wood 
used  for  smoothing  the  ware.  The  Moki  "rib"  corresponds  closely  in 
size,  shape,  and  use  to  that  I  have  seen  employed  by  our  potters. 


I   I 


i 


i: 


ji 


122  Th(,'   North-AiiK'ricans  of  \'t'stcrtlay 

in  a  pattern,  and  another  nietliod  seems  to  liave  been  to  stnooth  off 
all  the  pinch  marks,  except  in  certain  areas  that  when  left  would 
form  a  pattern.  Thus  in  the  latter  case  the  pattern  was  produced 
by  a  system  of  obliteration.  In  tigure  on  page  ii.S,  a  va.se  from 
the  Moki  country,  of  the  ancient  Pueblo  manufacture,  shows  this 
method  of  making  a  pattern  by  smoothing  down  i)inch  marks. 
To  do  this  the  pinch  marks  would  intentionally  be  made  with 
.some  regularity. 

Another  method  of  ornamentation  was  that  of  .scratching  or 
engraving  the  ware  after  it  had  been  fired.  This  is  seen  in  figures 
on  pages  120  and  121,  from  Arkansas.  »Still  another  methoil  of 
ornamentation  was  produceil  al'ter  the  ware  was  smoothed  to  ils 
finish,  whether  coil-made  or  not,  by  drawing  on  it  with  a  point. 
An  example  of  this  is  seen  on  page  103,  also  from  Arkansas.  The 
method  that  was  most  employed  by  the  ancient  Amerinds,  and  is 
used  ]\v  tliose  of  to-day,  as  well  as  by  most  potters  the  world  round, 
is  colour.  A  slip  or  wa.sh  of  fine  clay  was  given  to  the  ware,  and 
polished  and  decorated  in  colours  before  firing.  In  this  way  many 
beautiful  results  were  obtained  in  all  the  regions  of  North  America. 
Almost  every  colour  was  u.sed,  but  white,  black,  red,  and  yellow 
are  most  common.  These  i)ignients  were  laid  on  in  a  single  wash, 
or  we/'e  applied  in  more  or  less  elai)orate  patterns.  The  Puelilos, 
ancient  and  modern,  have  produced  an  astonishing  variety  of  de- 
signs, and  the  same  may  be  .said  of  the  Mexicans,  Mayas,  Zapotecs, 
Chiriquis,  and  other  stocks  of  the  South.  A  large  volume  could 
barely  do  justice  to  this  .subject,  but  enough  has  been  given  here 
to  show  the  nature,  di.stribution,  and  trend  of  pottery  making  by 
the  Amerindian  Tribes  ' 

'  For  soapstone  or  steatite  vessel.s,  see  Chap.  X. 


i 


in.ACK     (IT,    (  IIIUK.Hl.        ^ 


f 


U.  a.  iiu.  LlU. 


\Vu\  KN    MOLCA^IN    IKOM    KENTUCKY    UAVK 


chapti-:r  VI 


^VI•:A\•I^(i  and  costtmh 


> 


TIIIC  first  article  of  dress  of  primitive  pe()])le  was  not  a  woven 
stitff,  but  nevertheless  weaviiifj^,  like  pottery,  ])es;ijis  in  plait- 
inj:^  and  basketry,  and  is  an  ancient  art.  The  fust  clolhiiit;, 
a  necessity  of  climate,  was  made  of  skins  of  animals  where  they 
conld  l)e  obtained,  and  where  they  could  not  primitive  man  walked 
in  a  state  of  nature.  His  desire  for  clothinji^  was  one  purely  of 
comfort  ;  modesty,  as  we  define  it,  was  unknown.  Modesty,  so 
far  as  it  relates  to  concealment  of  the  body,  is  the  child  of  climate 
and  fashion.  A  Breton  i)easant  girl  does  not  mind  if  her  legs  are 
seen,  but  she  is  shocked  if  caught  with  her  hair  down  or  with- 
out her  cap  ;  one  of  our  own  ladies  thinks  nothing  of  exhibiting 
her  bare  shoulders  and  bosom  at  the  opera  under  gaslight,  but 
.she  would  not  do  it  in  daylight.  On  the  beach  it  would  al.so  be 
improper,  but  there  .she  is  not  troubled  if  her  lower  extremities 
are  seen.  In  some  of  the  milder  climates  to-day  clothing  is  .scanty, 
while  with  the  Eskimo  in  the  Far  North  it  is  compo.sed  of  warm  furs. 
Cold  was  responsible  for  the  first  clothing,  and  is  to-day  respon- 
.sible  for  a  good  deal  of  it.  The  idea  of  utilising  feathers  and  broad 
leaves  as  well  as  skins  would  soon  occur  to  a  people,  especially  if 
they  found  it  difficult  to  secure  the  skins,  and  with  the.se  .some 
kind  of  a  string  was  necessary  to  hold  them  together,  and  if  no 
sinew  or  thong  was  at  hand  the  want  would  be  supplied  by  twisted 

lO 

123 


124 


Tlu:   Xorth-AiiiL'ricans  of  NCstrrday 


n 


ill  '-^ 


'I 


ffi'i!) 


grass  or  bark,  and  this  twisted  j;rass  or  hark  thc-n  came  itself  to  he 
coinhiiied  in  the  furin  of  mats  for  sleejiing  on  or  covering'  sticks  to 
pro(hice  a  shelter.  This  was  plaitinj.;-,  and  it  is  the  first  step  to 
haskt'try  and  wcaxinj;.  .Man>'  of  the  simpler  arts  are  native  in 
the  brain  of  man,  ami  tliL-  expression  of  them  at  the  proper  time  is 
as  easy  and  natural  as  it  is  for  a  birdlini;  to  11}-,  a  kitten  to  catch 
a  mouse,  or  a  baby  to  walk  for  the  first  time.  It  is,  like  sij;ht, 
or  thouj^ht,  or  articulate  .speech,  a  direct  and  uncon.scious  result 
of  the  innate  composition  of  mankind.  It  is  impossible  to  tell 
why  a  spider  l)uiUls  a  web  of  e\-en  proportions  instead  of  one  that 
is  irre<;ular,  or  when  it  ac([uired  the  skill  to  perforin  its  feat  of 
en<;ineerint^,  or  why  it  builds  a  wd)  at  all,  and  ilocs  not,  like  a 
cat  and  .some  species  of  spiders,  rely  on  spriiij^iii!.;  upon  its  j^rey. 
The  spider  does  this  the  worUl  round  because  it  is  a  spiilcr,  and 
because  its  prey  also  has,  the  world  round,  its  own  habits.  .So  with 
man.  Ivvery where  he  learned  to  plait  mats,  make  wicker-work 
and  pottery,  and  a  thousand  other  thin<;s  simply  because  he  was 
everywhere  tlic  sanw  man.  If  you  examine  articles  of  i^rimitive 
manufacture  from  various  parts  of  the  globe,  you  will  find  them 
all  practically  alike,  because  the  men  who  made  them  were  prac- 
tically alike  and  their  wants  and  surroundings  were  practicidly 
alike.  They  plaited  together  strips  of  bark  or  twisted  grasses,  or 
rushes,  because  they  had  to  have  them,  and  they  went  on  finding 
out  the  properties  of  the  materials  that  compose  the  world  jiist  as 
they  are  doing  to-day,  till  they  made  cloth  and  made  it  on  a  ma- 
chine. Primitive  fabrics  were  everywhere  about  the  same,  and 
when  the  loom  was  invented  it  was  and  is,  where  still  used  in  its 
primitive  form,  very  much  the  same.  That  in  use  to-day  by  the 
Xavajos  is  much  like  that  used  by  the  Orientals.  The  Xavajos 
are  probably  not  the  inventors  of  it,  but  borrowed  the  idea  from 
the  Pueblos,  or  at  least  derived  it  through  a  mixture  of  Pueblo 
blood.  Their  cousins,  the  Apaches,  do  not  weave,  and  they  are 
probably  l)ettcr  representatives  of  the  original  Athapascan  stock 
than  the  Xavajos. 

The  Mexican  loom  was  similar  to  that  of  the  Xavajos,  and  it  is 
probable  that  some  of  the  tribes  of  the  Mississippi  valley  were 
acquainted  with  one  built  on  a  like  pattern.  The  product  of  these 
primitive  looms  was  also  much  alike  in  its  character;  some  of  the 
Oriental  rugs  that  we  see  now  strongly  resemble  the  blankets  of 
the  Mexicans  or  Xavajos. 


1 


1 


U.  >.  iiii-  fc-ili. 


MI.M>M|MK    l;|.  \liKli    i.AKll.K- 


'.4 

'  I 

h 


i 


Ik 


H 


I!! 


I'  «'] 


1  'i 


§ 


n{ 


i"t'i 


I  i 


■  ■I 

*1     ■  I 


126  The   North-Americans  of  Yesterday 

This  is  because  weaving  is  a  simple  art  ;  and  until  the  inven- 
tion of  the  Jacquard  piinciple  complex  patterns  were  produced 
only  by  great  labour,  as  all  the  different  colours  had  to  be  adjusted 
by  hand,  which  is  still  the  case  in  many  fine  products  like  the 
Turkish  rugs  or  the  shawls  of  Caslnnere. 

The  primitive  products  of  the  loom  were  s([uare  in  shape,  and 
when  used  as  garments  they  were  not  cut  to  a  pattern  or  altend. 
but  were  worn  as  they  came  from  the  loom.  To  make  a  dress,  it 
was  only  necessary  to  fasten  two  of  these  mats  or  blankets  to- 
gether, just  as  the  Moki  women  do  now.  This  combination 
was  then  .slipped  over  the  head,  with  one  corner  on  the  right 
shoulder  and  one  under  the  left,  and  a  !)elt  around  the  waist.  This 
was  the  costume  complete.  There  was  no  fitting  the  faljric  to 
the  body. 

Thread,  cord,  twine,  and  rope  were  made  by  the  Menominees 
chiefly  out  of  the  "  inner  bark  of  the  young  sprouts  of  basswood. 
The  bark  is  removed  in  sheets  and  boiled  in  water  to  which  a 
large  quantity  of  lye  from  wood  ashes  has  been  added.  This 
.softens  the  fibre  and  permits  the  worker  to  manipulate  it  without 
breaking.  The  shoulder-blade  of  a  deer  or  other  large  animal  is 
then  nailed  or  otherwi.se  fa.stened  to  an  upright  post,  and  through 
it  a  hole  about  an  inch  in  diameter  is  drilled  ;  through  this  hole 
bunches  of  the  boiled  bark  are  pulled  backward  and  forward,  from 
right  to  left,  to  remove  from  it  all  splinters  or  other  hard  frag- 
ments. After  the  fibre  has  become  soft  and  pliable,  bunches  of  it 
are  hung  up  in  hanks,  to  be  twisted  as  desired.  The  manner  of 
making  cord  or  twine,  .such  as  is  used  in  weaving  mats  and  for 
almost  all  household  purposes,  is  by  holding  in  the  left  hand  the 
fibre  as  it  is  pulled  from  the  hank,  and  separating  it  into  two  parts, 
which  are  laid  across  the  thigh.  The  pal?n  of  the  right  hand  is 
then  rolled  forward  over  both  so  as  to  tightly  twist  the  pair  of 
strands,  when  they  are  permitted  to  unite  and  twist  int<>  a  cord. 
The  t\vi.sted  end  being  pushed  a  little  to  the  right,  the  next  contiim- 
ous  portions  of  the  united  .strands  also  are  twisted  to  form  a  single 
cord.  The  same  proce.ss  is  followed  in  all  fibre-twisting,  even  to  the 
finest  nettle  thread."  '  In  the  matter  of  thread  some  fine  results 
were  obtained  by  various  Amerinds.  1  olmes  says  :  "  The  finest 
threads  with  which  I  am  acquainted  are  perhaps  not  as  fine  as  our 
number  ten  ordinary  spool-cotton  thread,  but  we  are  noL  justified 
'  Hoffman,  Fourteentli  Ann.  Rept.  liu.  Eth.,  p.  260. 


< 


'     I' 


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f  'if 

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If 


128  The  North- Americans  of  Yesterday 

in  assuming  that  more  refined  work  was  not  done."  '  Sage-brush, 
yucca,  and  other  plants  were  used  for  making  thread  and  cord. 

In  order  to  weave,  it  is  first  necessary  to  reduce  your  fibre,  or 
wool,  or  cotton,  to  more  or  less  even  threads  or  yarn.  The 
Amerind  way  of  doing  this  was  the  same,  practically-,  wherever 
spinning  and  weaving  were  attempted,  from  Central  America 
northward.  The  spindle  is  a  round,  slender,  pointed  stick,  a  foot 
to  about  fifteen  inches  long,  put  through  a  disc,  generalh'  of  flat, 
hard  wood,  four  to  six  inches  in  diameter,  which  acts  as  a  fly- 
wheel to  keep  up  the  momentum.  It  is  the  simplest  form  of  top. 
The  operator  holds  the  wool  or  cotton,  previously  prepared,  in  his 
or  her  lap,  and  attaching  one  end  of  it  to  the  top  arm  of  the  spin- 
dle, above  the  disc,  gives  the  spindle  a  twirl,  either  by  the 
thumb  and  forefinger  or  by  a  dexterous  sweep  of  the  palm  of  the 
hand  along  the  thigh.  The  fibre,  or  wool,  that  was  attached  to 
the  arm  of  it  winds  round  till  it  reaches  the  tip,  where  it  clings 
and  takes  on  the  rotary  motion  of  the  stick  to  which  it  is  fast, 
being  twisted  thereby  into  yarn.  It  continues  to  spin  with  the 
spindle  for  some  seconds,  about  fifteen  or  twenty,  and  when  the 
momentum  slackens  l)elow  the  necessarj^  speed,  the  yarn  thus  far 
made  is  wound  on  the  spindle  and  it  is  started  afresh,  with  more 
wool  paid  out  to  the  twisting.  The  operation  is  repeated  over 
and  over  till  the  spindle  is  full,  and  it  is  surprising  to  see  how 
rapidly  it  can  be  done.  I  have  only  seen  this  performed  amongst 
the  Moki,  but  the  descriptions  from  other  places  show  it  to  be 
done  in  about  the  same  way  ever\-vvhere.  In  the  Mexican  region 
the  spindle-discs  were  made  of  pottery.  In  Nicaragua  both  wood 
and  terra  cotta  were  employed,  and  it  is  likely  that  wood  was  also 
used  by  some  part  of  t lie  people  in  Mexico  and  other  places  where 
the  terra-cotta  discs  are  now  found. 

Weaving  was  not  confined  to  the  Pueblo  and  Mexican  country 
when  the  whites  first  came  to  the  continent,  but  was  in  vogue 
among.st  many  diff'erent  tribes,  who  used  various  substances  in  the 
manufacture  of  rugs  and  blankets.  Cotton  amongst  Southern  and 
South-western  tribes  was  a  favourite  material,  and  in  other  places 
hemp,  and  the  hair  of  animals,  and  birds'  feathers  were  used.  The 
Kwakiutls  of  the  North-we.st  coast  "  made  blankets  of  mountain- 
goat  wool,  dog's  hair,  feathers,  or  a  mixture  of  both."  "     And  the 

'  Holmes,  Thirteenth  Ann.  Rept.  Bn.  Eth.,  p.  22, 
•  Boas,  Report  [\  S.  Nat.  Museum^  \>.  319. 


1 


Weaving  and  Costume 


129 


tribes  of  Pnget  Sound  and  the  Straits  of  Fuca  "  attained  consider- 
able skill  in  manufacturing  a  species  of  blanket  from  a  mixture 
of  the  wool  of  the  mountain  sheep  and  the  hair  of  a  particular  kind 
of  dog,  though  in  this  art  they  never  equalled  the  more  northern 
tribes."  '  It  is  extremel}'  probable  that  some  of  the  Pueblos, 
before  the  introduction  of  the  sheep  of  Europe,  used  the  hair  or 
wool  of  a  mountain  sheep  or  goat  for  weaving,  and  it  is  possible 
that  they  had  to  some  extent  domesticated  that  animal  or  some 


From  photograph  by  the  author 

I'AKT   or    TIFF,    SOMAIKOI.I     CERKMONY    AT    CICiriMOVI,    NOVEMHER,    1S84, 
SMUWlNc;    A    SACRED    ULANKET   ON    KUURE    IN   FOREGROLNO 

similar  one  ;  at  least  they  may  have  kept  it  imprisoned  for  its 
wool  in  much  the  same  way  that  they  now  keep  eagles  for  their 
feathers.  Fray  Marcos  relates  that  one  of  the  natives  he  met 
with  in  1540  told  him  that  the  people  of  Totonteac  made  cloth, 
much  like  the  garment  he  had  on,  from  the  hair  of  certain  small 
animals.  These  animals  have  usually  been  .supposed  to  have  been 
dogs,  but  as  the  Northern  Amerinds  used  mountain-goat's  wool,  it 
is  possible  that  the  Pueblos,  who  were  in  advance  of  them  in  all 
that  pertains  to  weaving,  had  not  only  succeeded  in  weaving  such 
hair  or  wool  garments,  but  had  conceived  the  idea  of  holding  the 

'  Gibbs,  (\  S.  (i.  .v.,  Conlrib.  to  N'.  A.  Elhnolo^i^y,  vol.  i.,  part  ii.,  p.  219. 
9 


Y\ 


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I 

I 


130  The  North- Americans  of  Yesterday 


I'^'i 


•  M 


11 


animals  in  captivity.  It  has  been  supposed  by  some  that  they 
had  ah  animal  of  the  vicuna  kind.  Terra-cotta  images  have  been 
found  in  the  Salado  ruins  of  Arizona  that  are  difficult  to  identify, 
and  are  believed  by  some  zoologists  who  have  seen  them  to  repre- 
sent "  a  creature  allied  to  the  South- American  Camellidae."  ' 

"  It  has  been  surmised  that  such  animals  continued  to  ))e 
domesticated  by  the  sedentary  Indians  of  Arizona  and  New  Mex- 
ico down  to  historic  days  and  became  extinct  only  when  the  more 
serviceable  European  sheep  was  introduced  by  the  Spaniards. 
.  .  ,  Fossil  bones  of  an  animal  of  this  family  have  been  found 
in  the  South-west  ;  but  its  bones  were  not  identified  in  the  Salado 
ruins."  ' 

The  Pai  Utes  made  a  garment  of  rabbit-skins  which  was  very 
warm.  The  skins  were  twisted  and  attached  one  to  another  end 
and  end,  making  a  sort  of  fur  rope,  and  this  rope  was  tied  in  par- 
allel lines,  forming  a  kind  of  large  cloak  which  was  most  service- 
able in  winter.  Flax,  or  a  plant  closely  allied  to  it,  also  grew 
wild  all  over  Arizona  and  New  Mexico,  and  was  used  for  gar- 
ments. The  bark  of  the  sagebrush  was  used  to  make  cord  atid 
mats.  Yucca  also  furnished  a  supply  of  valuable  fibre.  Cotton 
was  grown  by  many  of  the  Pueblos  and  is  still  cultivated  by  the 
Mokis,  who  manufacture  a  sacred  blanket  from  it  that  is  sought 
after  at  good  prices  by  the  Pueblos  of  other  districts.  It  is  a  finel  y 
woven  white  blanket,  with  a  broad  red  stripe  transversely  at  each 
end.  It  is  worn  by  women  in  the  ceremonials.  The  Mokis  are 
good  weavers,  using  a  loom  similar  to  that  employed  by  tlie 
Navajos.  The  Moki  loom  is  generally  set  up  in  the  kiva "  where 
often  there  are  permanent  attachments  for  it,  and  there  the  men, 
who  do  all  the  weaving  among  this  tribe,  patiently  execute  their 
plans.  Most  of  the  Moki  blankets  are  of  low  colours  and  simple 
design,  dark  blue  being,  with  black,  the  favourite  tint.  The  usual 
material  is  the  wool  of  the  European  .sheep,  which  has  flourished 
among  the  Pueblos  ever  since  it  was  introduced  by  the  Spaniards. 
The  sheep  are  herded  on  the  plains  during  the  day  and  at  night  are 
driven  up  the  talus  of  the  cliff^s  to  corrals  that  lie  just  below  the  pla- 
teau on  which  the  villages  are  built.     The  Navajos  living  in  the 

'  National  Academy  of  vSciences,  Bones  of  the  Hcmcu'cay  Expedition, 
Introduction  by  Washinj^ton  Matthews,  p.  157. 

■•'See  for  description  of  kiva  tlie  cha])tir  in  this  book  on  .\rchitecUiri , 
etc.,  anil  also  Macniillau's  Dictionary  0/  ^lirliileetiire. 


« 


I 


1    ri 

1 


Weaving  and  Costume 


131 


1 


surrounding  country  have  far  larger  flocks  than  those  of  the  Moki, 
and  weave  only  wool.  In  fact,  there  are  amongst  the  Navajos 
more  than  a  million  and  a  half  head  of  sheep  and  goats.  Most  of 
the  wool  from  these  they  usually  sell  to  dealers  at  four  or  five 
cents  a  pound  and  then  purchase  for  their  blanket-work  at  high 
prices  Germantown  wools  of  brilliant  colours,  which  colours  they 
cannot  obtain  with  their  own  dyes,  though  the  colours  they  do 


U.  S.  Bu.  Eth. 


DETAILS  OF   NAVAJO   LOOM   CONSTRUCTION 


secure  are  far  more  artistic.  Formerly,  to  get  the  brilliant  red  of 
which  they  are  so  fond,  they  would  buy  a  Mexican  cloth,  called 
baycta,  a  .sort  of  flannel,  and  ravel  it,  to  reweave  it  in  their 
blanket.s.  The  women  do  most  of  the  weaving  amongst  the  Nav- 
ajos. The  colours  are  usually  bright,  though  the  every-day  serv- 
iceable blanket  is  of  dark  blue  and  white  or  black  and  white,  or  of 
the  natural  grey  of  the  wool.  The  greater  gaudiness  of  much  of  the 
Navajo  work  has  given  it  a  reputation  of  superiority  to  that  of 


t 


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»: 


r 


■'  1 

.  1 

132 


The  North-Americans  of  Yesterday 


the  Pueblo,  which,  in  my  opinion,  is  not  wholly  correct.  Wash- 
ington Matthews,'  who  has  so  carefully  studit;d  the  subject,  stales 
that  there  is  a  constant  deterioration  in  Pueblo  weaving,  which 
may  be  true  in  general,  but  hardly  applies  to  the  Moki.  I  have 
a  sample  of  Moki  work  which,  so  far  as  weaving  skill  is  concerned, 
is  as  fine  as  any  Navajo  work  I  have  ever  seen.  The  Moki  do 
not  turn  out  as  much  as  the  Navajo,  because  they  are  a  far  smaller 
tribe  ;  and  their  product  is  dark,  as  a  rule,  in  colour,  as  they  use 
their  own  dyes,  but  its  texture,  and  especially  the  texture  of  the 
sacred  cotton  blankets,  is  extremely  fine,  even  finer  and  better  as 
an  example  of  weaving  skill  than  many  Navajo  Ijlankets.  "  In 
some  Puel)los,"  says  Matthews,  "  the  skill  of  the  loom  has  been 
almost  forgotten." 

The  Navajo  loom  is  set  up  anywhere  and  a  shelter  of  boughs 
built  over  it.  As  the  rainfall  is  light  in  the  Navajo  country,  it  is 
not  necessary  to  provide  permanent  shelters.  The  loom  is  worth 
a  careful  description,  and  as  I  do  not  know  of  any  better,  or 
indeed  .so  good  as  that  given  by  Matthews,  it  is  here  quoted 
entire  :  "  Two  posts,  a  a,  are  set  firmly  in  the  ground  ;  to  these 
are  lashed  two  cross  pieces  or  l^races,  b  c,  the  whole  forming  the 
frame  of  the  loom.  Sometimes  two  .slender  trees,  growing  at  a 
convenient  distance  from  one  another,  are  made  to  answer  for  the 
posts,  d  is  a  horizontal  pole,  which  I  call  the  supplementary 
j'arn-beam,  attached  to  the  upper  brace,  b,  by  means  of  a  rope, 
e  e,  spirally  applied,  f  is  the  upper  beam  of  the  loom.  As  it  is 
analogous  to  the  yarn-beam  of  our  looms,  I  will  call  it  by  this 
name,  although  once  only  have  I  seen  the  warp  wound  around  it. 
It  lies  parallel  to  the  pole,  d,  about  two  or  three  inches  below  it, 
and  is  attached  to  the  latt-^r  by  a  number  of  loops,  g  g.  A  spiral 
cord  wound  around  the  yarn-beam  holds  the  upper  border  cord, 
h  h,  which,  in  turn,  .secures  the  upper  end  of  the  warp,  i  i.  The 
lower  beam  of  the  loom  is  showti  at  k.  I  will  call  this  the  cloth 
beam,  although  the  finished  web  is  never  wound  around  it  ;  it  is 
tied  firmly  to  the  lower  brace,  c,  of  the  frame,  and  to  it  is  secured 
the  lower  border  cord  of  the  blanket.  The  original  distance 
between  the  two  beams  is  the  length  of  the  blanket.  Lying 
between  the  threads  of  the  warp  is  depicted  a  broad,  thin,  oaken 
stick,  1,  which  I  will  call  the  batten.     A  set  of  healds  attached  to 


i''s! 


'  Dr.  Washington  Matthews, 
Bu.  Eth.,  p.  375. 


'Navajo  Weavers."     Third  Ann.  Rept. 


I* 


6 


I» 


Weaving  and  Costume 


a  heal'1-rod,  m,  are  shown  above  the  l)atten.  These  healds  are 
made  of  cord  or  yarn  ;  they  include  alternate  threads  of  the  warp, 
and  serve  when  drawn  forward  to  open  the  lower  shed.  The 
upper  shed  is  kept  patent  by  a  stout  rod,  n  (having  no  healds 
attached),  which  I  name  the  shed-rod.  Their  substitute  for  the 
reed  of  our  looms  is  a  wooden  fork,  which  will  be  designated  as 
the  reed-fork."  ' 

All  the  Navajo  and  Pueblo  weaving  is  the  same  on  both  sides. 
Most  of  it  is  straight  weaving,  but  there  is  a  good  deal  of  diagonal 
work.  This  is  true  also  of  the  Moki.  The  diagoiial  weaving 
produces  a  diamond  figure  that  is  very  pretty,  biit  I  have  never 
seen  it  used  in  any  of  the  finest  Navajo  work.  As  to  the  designs, 
Matthews  says  that  "  in  the  finer  blankets  of  intricate  pattern,  out 
of  thousands  which  I  have  examined,  I  do  not  rememl)er  to  have 
ever  seen  two  exactly  alike."  '  Doubtless  while  some  of  these 
desigr.s,  or  even  many,  are  drawn  from  Pueblo  sources  as  no- 
ticed, the  weaver  introduces  original  features  and  often  invents 
new  patterns.  The  blankets  are  woven,  as  a  rule,  in  two  ways, 
the  tight  method  for  protection  against  rain,  and  the  loo.se  method 
for  protection  against  cold.  The  loose,  soft  blanket  is  worn  inukr 
one  of  the  harder  ones  in  wet  or  windy  weather."  Tiie  Navajos 
also  weave  garters  and  long  sashes.  The  garters  are  similar  to 
the  .sashes,  only  .smaller.  They  are  used  to  hold  leggings  in  place. 
vSmall  blankets  are  made  to  put  under  the  saddle,  and  these  are 
often  very  fine  in  texture  as  well  as  in  pattern.  Similar  ones  are 
made  for  children. 

"  Previously  to  the  .seventeenth  century,"  .says  Bandelier, 
"  the  aboriginal  dress  consisted  largeh'  of  cotton  .sheets,  or  rather 
simple  wrappers,  tied  either  around  the  neck  or  on  the  shoulder, 
or  converted  into  sleeveless  jackets."  Of  the  filire  of  the  yucca, 
the  Zuiii  Indians  made  .skirts  and  kilts;  of  rabbit-.skins  very  heavy 
blankets  were  made.  The  northern  Puebloans,  of  New  Mexico, 
nearer  to  a  game  region,  dressed  in  buckskiii  in  preference  to 
anything  else.  But  still,  even  when  cotton  was  ur.obtainable  for 
whole  garments,  they  .sought  to  secure  cotton  scarfs  and  girdles 
woven  in  bright  colours,  which  were  used  for  belts  as  well  as  for 
garters,  etc.      The  dress  was  more  simple  than  that  of  to-day. 

'  Washinj^ton  Matthews,  Third  Ann.  Kept.  Bu.  Eth.,  p.  377. 

"Some  of  the  finest  Navajo  blankets  command  hij^h  prices.    .V  two 
faced  blanket  is  described  l)y   Matthews  in  llie  Atncrican  .InlJiropoloi^isf, 
vol.  ii..  No.  4. 


m 


ji 


! 


,  ^ 

1 1 

I  ■ 


134  The  North- Americans  of  Yesterday 


':i    i'> 


Leggings  of  buckskin  were  worn  in  winter  onlj',  and  then  mostly 
by  the  northern  Pueblos.  The  moccasin,  or  ti'i^na,  protected  the 
feet.  It  is  explicitly  slated  that  while  the  uppers  of  this  shoe 
without  heel  were  of  deerskin,  the  soles  were  frequently  of  buffalo 
hide."  '  The  moccasin  of  the  South-west  is  generally  soled  with 
rawhide  of  some  kind,  the  .sole  being  slightly  turned  up  all  round. 
Another  material  for  garments  was  feathers.  The.se  were  util- 
ised all  over  the  continent,  to  a  greater  or  less  degree.  l)y  various 
tribes,  but  it  was  the  Mexicans  who  carried  the  work  in  this  line 
to  perfection.  "  Nothing  could  be  more  picturesque,"  says  Pres- 
colt,  "  thaii  the  aspect  of  these  Indian  battalions  with  the  naked 
bodies  of  the  conunon  .soldiers  gaudily  painted,  the  fantastic  hel- 
mets of  the  chiefs  glittering  with  gold  and  precious  .stones,  and 
the  glowing  panoplies  of  feather- work,  which  decorated  their  per- 
sons. .  .  .  The  conunon  file  wore  no  covering  except  a  girdle 
round  the  loins.  Their  bodies  were  painted  with  appropriate 
colours  of  the  chieftain  whose  banner  they  followed.  The  feather- 
mail  of  the  higher  class  of  warriors  exhibited  also  a  .similar  selec- 
tion of  colours  for  the  like  olyect,  in  the  same  manner  as  the 
colour  of  the  tartan  indicates  the  peculiar  clan  of  the  Highlander. 
The  caciques  and  principal  warriors  were  clothed  in  a  quilted 
cotton  tunic,  two  inches  thick,  which,  fitting  close  to  the  body, 
protected  also  the  thighs  and  the  shoulders.  Over  this  the 
wealthier  Indians  wore  cuirasses  of  thin  gold  plate  or  .silver. 
Their  legs  were  defended  by  leathern  boots  or  .sandals,  trinnned 
with  gold.  But  the  most  brilliant  part  of  their  costume  was  a 
rich  mantle  of  the  p/iinuijc,  or  feather-work,  embroidered  with 
curious  art,  and  furnishing  some  re.semblance  to  the  gorgeous 
surcoat  worn  by  the  ICuropean  knight  over  his  armour  in  the 
Miildle  Ages.  This  graceful  and  picturesque  dr.  ss  was  sur- 
mounted by  a  fantastic  head-piece  made  of  wood  or  leather,  rep- 
rL'Senting  the  head  of  some  wild  animai,  and  frequently  displaying 
a  formidable  array  of  teeth.  With  this  covering  the  warrior's 
liLud  was  enveloped,  producing  a  most  grotescjue  and  hideous 
effect.  From  the  crown  floated  a  splendid  panache  of  the  richly 
variegated  plumage  of  the  tropics,  indicating,  by  its  form  and 
colours,  the  rank  and  family  of  the  wearer.  To  complete  their 
defensive  armour,  they  carried  .shields  or  targets,  made  sometimes 
of  wood  covered  with  leather,  but  more  usually  of  a  light  frame  of 

'  BaiulelicT,  Final  Report,  part  i.,  p.  15S. 


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U.  S.  Bu.  F.th. 


A  nTF.HLO.\\  OF  SAN  jr.\N,   m-.w   mkxico 


13: 


136 


The   Xortli-Aincricaiis  of  Ycstcrtlay 


'I  ^B 


i  .1 


reeds  quilted  with  cotton,  which  were  preferred  as  tougher  and 
less  liable  to  fracture  than  the  former.  They  had  other  bucklers, 
ill  which  the  cotton  was  covered  with  an  elastic  substance,  en- 
ai)ling  theiu  to  be  shut  up  in  a  more  cojupact  form,  like  a  fan  or 
umbrella.  These  shields  were  decorated  with  showy  ornaments, 
according  to  the  taste  or  wealth  of  the  wearer,  and  fringed  with 
a  beautiful  pendant  of  feather-work.  .  .  .  Such  was  the  cos- 
tume of  the  Tlascalan  warrior,  and,  indeed,  of  that  great  family 
of  nations  generally  who  occupied  the  plateau  of  Anahuac'  .  .  . 
They  were  particularly  struck  with  the  costume  of  the  higher 
classes,  who  wore  fine  embroidered  mantles,  resembling  the  grace- 
ful alhonio-j,  or  Moorish  cloak,  in  their  texture  and  fashion."  .  .  . 
Here  they  were  met  by  several  hundred  Aztec  chiefs,  who  came 
out  to  announce  the  approach  of  Monte/Aima,  and  to  welcome  the 
.Spaniards  to  his  capital.  They  were  dressed  in  the  fanciful  gala 
costume  of  the  country,  with  the  ina.xtlatl,  or  cotton  sash,  around 
their  loins,  and  a  broad  mantle  of  the  .same  material,  or  of  the 
brilliant  feather-embroidery,  flowing  gracefully  down  their  shoul- 
ders. On  their  necks  and  arms  they  displayed  collars  and  brace- 
lets of  turquoise  mosaic,  with  which  delicate  plumage  was  curiously 
mingled,  while  their  ears,  under-lips,  and  oi.\  .sionally  their  noses, 
were  garnished  with  pendants  formed  of  precious  stones,  or  cres- 
cents of  fine  gold.^  .  .  .  Montezuma  wore  the  girdle  and 
ample  .square  cloak,  (i/i)iath\*  of  his  nation.  It  was  made  of  the 
finest  cotton,  with  the  embroidered  ends  gathered  in  a  knot  around 
his  neck.  His  feet  were  defended  by  sandals  having  .soles  of  gold, 
and  the  leathern  thongs  which  bound  them  to  his  ankles  were 
embossed  with  the  .same  metal.  Roth  the  cloak  and  sandals  were 
sprinkled  with  pearls  and  precious  stones,  among  which  the 
emerald  and  the  chalchivitl — a  green  stone  of  higher  estimation 
than  any  other  among  the  Aztecs  —  were  conspicuous.  On  his 
head  he  wore  no  other  ornament  than  a  panache  of  plumes  of  the 
royal  green  which  floated  down  his  back,  the  badge  of  military, 
rather  than  of  regal  rank."  " 

'  Prescott's  Mexico,  vol.  i.,  pp.  439,  442. 

■'  Ibid.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  13. 

^  /did.,  p.  71. 

•*  The  ti»iatli  or  tihnatli  for  men  was  a  piece  of  cloth,  accordinjj;  to 
Biart,  "  four  feet  long,  which  enveloped  the  body,  and  two  corners  of  which 
were  knoUed  upon  the  breast  or  upon  the  shoulder." 

'•>  Ibid.,  p.  73. 


] 


Wcaviii'^  and  Costume 


13: 


These  quotations  from  Prescott  will  give  an  idea  of  the  costume 
of  the  Mexicans,  and  of  the  beautiful  feather-work  which  formed 
so  important  a  part  of  it.  Though  the  languaj^e  of  Prescott  m;iy 
somewhat  exaggerate  the  quality  and  beauty  of  the  Mexican  gar- 
ments, we  know  from  wliat  the  Mexicans  and  Pueblos  mamifac- 
tured  afterward  that  much  skill  nuist  have  been  displayed  in  thene 
various  fabrics.  The  cloak  of  cotton  was  probably  no  more  a  cloak 
or  mantle  than  the  blankets  woven  by  the  Pueblos  and  Navnjos 
to-day;  that  is,  it  was  a  square  of  cloth  worn  about  the  shoulders. 
If  one  should  describe  the  Pueblo  in  Prescott's  delightful  language, 
we  should  think  him  and  his  houses  and  garments  far  finer  than 
they  really  are.  To  describe  a  breech-cloth  as  a  girdle  round 
the  loins  ;  to  speak  of 
l)laiikets  as  mantles  and 
robes  ;  moccasins  as 
sandals,  and  otherwise 
gild  description,  makes 
pleasant  reading,  but  is 
liable  to  convey  erron- 
eous impressions.  Pres- 
cott's lack  of  general 
knowledge  of  Amerind 
customs  gave  him  a  free 
rein  and  his  poetical 
temperament  finished 
the  picture. 

Montezuma  wore  on 
his  head  "  a  panache  of  plumes,  .  .  .  the  badge  of  mili- 
tary, rather  than  of  regal  rank."  And  this  is  exactly  what 
Montezuma  was,  a  war-chief.  But  Pre.scott  drew  his  material 
from  the  Spaniards,  and  where  he  describes  what  they  saw,  he 
is  not,  in  all  probability,  far  from  the  mark,  although  his  lan- 
guage may  be  sometimes  rather  flowery.  The  feather-work 
was  one  of  the  remarkable  products  of  the  Aztecs.  In  an  orna- 
mental way  it  is  still  practised  in  Mexico,  and  the  birds  and  other 
objects  made  from  feathers  exhibit  a  wonderful  .skill.  Mantles  of 
fur  are  mentioned  as  being  used  by  the  Aztecs,  but  these  were 
probably  constructed  in  much  the  same  manner  as  the  rabbit-skin 
robes  of  the  Moki  and  the  Pai  Lite,  that  is,  by  twisting  the  skins 
into  ropes  and  then  tying  them  together.     The  cotton  weaving 


U.  S.  Mil.  Eth. 

MKllIOl)    (>K    MAKINi;    KKA  IIIKR-U  • 


'UK 


I 


I 


i! 


I 


il  i 


1  ): 


4     I 


I 


•(    |i 


u 

Si; 


li  m 


1  il  I 


'3-^ 


The   Xorth-Aincricans  of  VcstLTclay 


was  (lone  on  a  loom  similar  to  that  now  in  use  by  tlic  Xavajos  and 
the  Pneblos.  Tlit-  feather-work  was  jirohably  made  in  much  the 
same  way  as  that  of  Tern,  specimens  of  which  have  been  pre. 
served  in  the  tombs.  The  figure  on  i^ai^e  137  sliows  the  way  the 
IVruvians  attached  the  feathers  to  the  cloth  underK^round,  but  in 
man>-  cases  the  feathers  were  woven  in  with  the  warp  and  woof, 
instead  of  beinj^  attached  to  the  surface  in  this  way.  This  use  of 
feathers  was  not  confined  to  any  particular  locality,  l)Ut,  like  al- 
njost  all  the  arts  in  use  on  the  continent,  was  widely  distrilnited. 
Turkey  feathers  were  used  in  Virginia  for  this  work,  and  in  Louis- 
iana the  same  bird  was  called  upon.  "  The  feather  mantles," 
writes  l)u  Pratz  in  his  hi.story  of  Louisiana,  "  are  made  on  a  frame 
similar  to  that  on  wliich  the  peruke  makers  work  hair  ;  they 
spread  the  feathers  in  the  same  manner  and  fasten  them  on  old 
fish-nets  or  old  mantles  of  nudl)erry  bark.  They  are  placed, 
spread  in  this  manner,  one  over  the  other  and  on  both  sides  ;  for 
this  purpose  snr.dl  turkey  feathers  are  used  ;  women  who  have 
fealliers  of  swans  or  India  ducks,  which  are  white,  make  these 
feather  mantles  for  women  of  high  rank."  '  Feather  mantles  of 
fine  (juality  were  also  made  by  the  Lenape. 

.\lmost  every  Amerind  tribe  could  make  thread,  cord,  nets, 
m  Its,  and  .some  kind  of  woven  stuff.  The  Mexicans,  Mayas,  and 
other  tribes  of  the  Central  region  excelled  in  these  things,  but  llie 
Pueblos,  and  Xavajos,  as  we  have  seen,  execute  in  modern  times 
some  admirable  fabrics,  which  the  Pueblos  also  constructed  before 
the  advent  of  the  whiles. 

"  The  Mexicans  had  also,"  .sa>s  Pre.scott,  "  the  art  of  spinning 
a  fine  thread  of  the  hair  of  the  rabbit  and  other  animals,  which 
the\-  wove  into  a  delicate  web  that  took  a  permanent  dye.  .  .  . 
The  women,  as  in  other  parts  of  the  country,  seemed  to  go  about  as 
freely  as  the  men  They  wore  several  .skirts  or  petticoats  of  differ- 
ent lengths,  with  highly  ornamented  borders,  and  sometimes  over 
them  loose  flowing  robes,  wliich  reached  to  the  ankles.  These, 
also,  were  made  of  cotton  ;  for  the  wealthier  classes,  of  a  fine 
texture,  prettily  embroidered.  Xo  veils  were  worn  here  (Mexico) 
as  in  some  other  parts  of  Anahuac,  where  they  were  made  of  the 
aloe  thread,  or  of  the  light  web  of  hair  above  noticed."  "  Biart" 
says    the   women   wore    "  a   piece    of    cloth    cnc///,    which    they 

'  Du  Pratz,  //isf.  de  la  Louisiaiw,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  191,  192. 

'  Prescott's  Mexico,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  133,  134.       ^Lucien  Hiart,  T/w  .1~/<rs. 


U.  S.  liu.  Kih. 


i 

{ 


1.1 


1*1 

m 


\' 


CIlll.KAT    i  IKI.MuMAL    blllRT 
I3'J 


I 


I; 


I'.'t 


I, 


I 


1, 


140 


The   North-Americans  of  Yesterday 


ii  I 


;       » 


II       I 


r 


wrapped  around  their  bodies,  and  which  descended  a  little  be- 
low tlie  knee  ;  over  this  skirt  they  wore  a  sleeveless  chemise 
called  InupilUr 

The  Mayas  and  other  Amerinds  of  the  Central  region  nsed 
woven  ci'  .ns  similar  to  those  of  the  A/.tecs.  Of  the  dress  of  the 
modern  Amerinds  of  Nicaragua,  vScjuier  says  :  "  It  is  exceeilingly 
simple.  On  ordinary  occasions  the  women  wear  onh'  a  white  or 
flowered  skirt  fastened  round  the  waist,  leaving  the  upper  part  of 
the  person  entirely  exposed,  or  but  partially  covered  by  a  hand- 
kerchief fastened  around  the  neck.  In  Masaya  and  some  other 
places,  a  .square  piece  of  cloth  of  native  manufacture,  anil  pre- 
ci.selj'  the  .same  style  and  pattern  with  that  used  for  the  same 
purpose  before  the  Discovery,  supplies  the  place  of  a  skirt.  It  is 
fastened  in  some  incompreliensil)le  way  without  aid  of  .strings  or 
I)ins  and  falls  from  the  hips  a  little  below  the  knees. 
The  men  wear  a  kind  of  cotton  drawers,  fastened  abo\e  the 
hips,  but  freipiently  reaching  no  lower  than  the  kr.ees.  vSand- 
als  supply  the  place  of  shoes,  but  for  the  most  part  both  sexes 
go  with  bare  feet."  '  The  costume  of  the  women  of  Louisi- 
ana as  depicted  by  Du  Pratz  in  an  illustration  in  his  history,  is 
almost,  if  not  quite  identical  with  the  costume  of  the  women  of 
Nicaragua. 

Fine  dressing  was  not  confined  to  the  Mexican.s.  Other  Ame- 
rinds gave  some  attention  to  their  personal  appearance  as  well  as 
the  tribes  of  Mexico.  In  the  following  description  by  a  Miss  Pow- 
ell, who  visited  an  Iroipiois  council  on  IJnfTalo  Creek,  in  17.S5,  of 
Captain  David,  if  the  worthy  Captain  had  been  described  as  a 
"  lord,"  and  Miss  Powell  had  been  less  .skeptical  about  his  ablu- 
tions, he  might  easily  have  ranked  with  some  of  the  "  lords"  of 
Anahuac  who  are  so  cojispicuous  in  the  charming  works  of  Pre.s- 
cott.  Mi.ss  Powell  declared,  "  that  the  Prince  of  Wales  did  not 
l)ow  with  more  grace  than  '  Captain  David.'  lie  .spoke  Ivnglish 
with  propriety.  His  person  was  as  tall  and  fine  as  it  was  possible 
to  imagine  ;  his  features  handsome  and  regular,  with  a  counte- 
nance of  much  .softness  ;  his  complexion  not  disagreeably  dark, 
and,  .said  Miss  Powell,  '  I  really  believe  he  washes  his  face.'  .  .  . 
His  hair  was  .shaved  off,  except  a  little  on  top  of  his  head,  which, 
with  his  ears,  was  painted  a  glowing  red.  Around  his  head  was 
a  fillet  of  silver  from  which  two  strips  of  black  velvet,  covered  with 

'  vS(juier,  .\icarae;ua^  p.  289. 


Wcaviiis^  and  Costume 


141 


!i. 


silver  bv.-a(l.s  and  brooches,  Imiig  over  the  left  temple.  A  '  foxtail 
feither  '  in  his  scalp-lock  and  a  black  one  behind  each  ear  waved 
and  nodded  as  lie  walked,  while  a  pair  of  inunense  silver  ear-rinj^s 
hnng  down  to  his  shonlders.  I  le  wore  a  calico  siiirt,  the  neck  and 
shoidders  thickly  covered  with  silver  brooches,  the  sleeves  con- 
fnied  al)0ve  the  elbows  with  broad  silver  bracelets  eii<^ravcd  with 
the  arms  of  ICngland,  while  four  sm;dler  ones  adorned  his  wrists. 
Arunnd  liis  waist  was  a  dark  scarf  lined  with  .scarlet  which  hiuii; 
to  his  feel,  while  his  coslnme  was  completetl  by  neatly  fitlini;  l)lne 
cloth  lej^gins,  fastened  with  an  ornamental  i;arler  l)elow  the 
knee."  '  This  elei;ant  s^entleman  l)elon.ned  to  no  vanislR-d  nr 
mysterious  race  ;  he  was  a  modern  Iri)«|nois.  Undonbtedly  his 
OMcestors  had,  many  of  them,  with  tlie  means  at  their  connnand, 
dressed  with  e(inal  splenlnir,  and  we  may  wonder  what  kind  of  a 
descrii)lion  of  them  we  would  have  had  from  the  romantic  Span- 
iards if  they  had  happenetl  to  meet  with  them.  Ivven  this  well- 
balanced  American  lady  was  considerably  {jvercome,  for  she  says  : 
"  Captain  David  made  the  finest  apjKMrance  I  ewr  saw  in  my 
life."  About  this  same  lime,  or  to  \k-  accnrale,  in  177^),  b'alher 
Ivscalanle  met  with  Amerinds  in  I'lali  whose  dress  was  ver\-  differ- 
ent. "  Their  dress,"  he  says,  "  manitests  i;re;it  povertv  ;  ihemost 
decent  wliich  they  wear  is  a  coat  or  shirt  of  deerskin,  and  bijj^ 
moccasins  of  the  same  in  winter  ;  they  have  dresses  made  of  Inre 
and  rabbit  .skin."'  In  the  latter  we  recognise  the  same  twisted 
skin  garments  that  are  still  used,  or  were  a  fv.v  -v-ears  ago,  b\-  the 
Pai  Ties  and  the  Mokis.  In  central  Georgia  in  Soto's  time  the 
women  wore  a  kind  of  shawl,  "  for  covering,  wearing  one  about 
the  body  from  the  waist  downward,  aim  another  over  the  shoulder 
with  the  right  arm  left  free."  '  vSpinning  and  weaving  wi-re  long 
siippost'd,  by  those  who  had  not  investigated,  to  be  practised  only 
by  the  Mexican  and  I'neblo  tribes,  and  by  the  Xavajos,  but  the 
Pimas  and  Maricopas  of  Arizona  were  ade])tsin  these  arts  in  1X57 
The  government  agent  reports  at  that  time  :  "  They  also  spin 
and  weave  their  cotton,  b\'  hand,  into  bl.mkct.s  of  a  beautifnl 
texture,  an  art  not  ac(piired  from  the  Spaniards,  but  found  amoiii; 
them  more  than  three  hundred  years  ago,  when  the  Spaniards  first 

yy.'e'  History  of  I'rii'  County,   A'.)'.,   pp.   5H,  59,  edited  l)y  II.  IVny 
Siirih. 

■  OuoU'il  in  Captain  Siinps-on'.s  /^iport,  p.  494. 
•'  lUickinKbam  Suiitirs  translation. 


!:• 


'I 

he  I 


)iii 


!i 


\\\ 


til- 


,i 


142 


The   Xorth-Anitricans  of  Yesterday 


< 


i, 


1' 


!/  Si 


penetrated  the  country."  '  The  Al^u^onquins  of  Connecticut 
dressed  in  skins  "  cured  so  as  to  lie  soft  and  pliable,  and  some- 
times ornamented  with  paint  and  with  heads  manufactured  from 
shells.  ()ccasion;illy  they  decked  themselves  in  mantles  made  of 
feathers  overlappini;  each  other  as  on  the  hack  of  the  fowl,  and 
l^resentin^  an  ai)pearance  of  fanta.stic  j^ayety  which,  no  ilouht, 
prodijriously  delij^hted  the  wearers.  'IMie  dress  of  the  women 
consisted  usually  of  two  articles  :  a  leather  skirt,  or  under  gar- 
ment, ornamented  with  fringe  ;  and  a  skirt  of  the  same  material, 
fastened  round  the  waist  with  a  belt  and  reaching  nearly  to  the 

feet.  .  .  '.  Their 
hair  they  dre.ssed 
in  a  thick  heavy 
plait  which  fell 
down  upon  the 
neck  ;  and  they 
sometimes  orna- 
mented t  h  e  i ! 
heads  with  bands 
o  f  wampum  o  r 
with  a  small  cap. 
The  men  went 
bare -he  ad  ed, 
with  their  hair 
f  a  n  t  a  stically 
trinnued,  each 
according  to  his 
fancy.  One 
warrior  would  have  it  shaved  on  one  side  of  the  h<rad  and  long 
on  the  other,  .\nolher  nn"ght  be  slt;-,  with  his  .scalp  completely 
bare,  except  a  strip  two  or  three  inches  in  width  running  from 
the  forehead  over  to  the  nape  of  the  neck.  This  was  kent 
short,  ami  so  thoroughly  stifTened  with  paint  and  bear's  grease 
as  to  stand  straight  after  the  fashion  of  a  cock's  comb,  or  the 
cre.st  of  a  warrior's  h.elmet.  The  legs  were  covered  with  leg- 
gins  of  dres.sed  deer.skin,  and  the  lower  part  of  the  body  was 
jirotected  by  the  breech-cloth,  usually  called  by  the  early 
settlers,  Indian  breeches.      Moccasins,  that  is,  light  shoes  of  soft 

'  Kituti'ii;iiit  Mxwry,  /\'r/>i>i/,  j).  5S7,  Ivx.  Doc.  Iso.  11,  35tb  Cong.,  ist 
Si-ssioii, 


r.  s.  It 


I   nil, KM     (   I.KKMiiMAl.    1.1.  WKKT 


Weaving  and  Costume 


143 


I    I 


dressed  leather,  were  common  to  both  sexes  ;  and  like  other  por- 
tions of  the  attire,  were  many  times  tastefullj'  ornamented  with 
embroidery  of  wampum.  The  men  ofteti  dispensed  with  their 
leggins,  especially  in  summer  ;  while  in  winter  they  protected 
themselves  against  the  bleak  air  by  adding  to  their  garments 
a  mantle  of  skins.  The  male  children  ran  about  in  a  state  of 
nature  until  they  were  ten  or  twelve  years  old  ;  the  girls  wt^re 
provided  with  an  apron,  though  of  very  economical  dimen- 
sions. .  .  .  The  women  .  .  .  used  the  paint  as  an  orna- 
ment, while  the  men  seldom  applied  it,  except  when  they  went 
to  war  and  wished  to  appear  very  terrible  in  the  sight  of  their 
enemies.  Sachems  and  great  men  had  caps  and  aprons  heavily 
wrought  with  different-coloured  beads,  lielts  were  also  worn  of 
the  same  material,  some  of  which  contained  .so  great  a  ((uantity 
of  war.iinnn  as  to  be  valued  l)y  the  l^nglish  colonists  at  eiglit 
and  ten  pounds  sterling."  ' 

Here  we  discover  the  .same  de.sire  for  distinction  of  individuals 
by  dre.ss  that  exists  in  all  races,  and  the  .same  desire  to  dress  richly 
on  the  part  of  those  po.s.sessing  wealth  or  station,  for  it  nuist  bL' 
undcrstootl  that  wealth  and  station  have  their  degrees  amongst 
the  rudest  Amerinds  as  well  as  amongst  the  highest  and  amongst 
the  luiropeans.  The  dress  in  the  sunnner  alw;i>s  diffL-rs  consider- 
ably from  that  of  winter.  In  many  tribes  little  is  worn  by  the 
men  in  sunnncr  1)Ut  the  i)reech-cloth,  and  .sometimes  not  even  that. 
I  recall  one  morning  when  I  was  living  in  the  Moki  villag(.'  of 
Tewa,  in  Arizona,  one  of  the  dignitaries  came  to  call  upon  me, 
as  was  a  conunon  custom,  and  he  hail  wrapped  al)out  him  a  native 
blanket.  When  he  temporarily  let  this  covcri'ig  drop  awa>-  from 
his  person,  I  noticed  that  there  was  not  cvlmi  a  breech-cloth  bu- 
nealh.  The  small  children  of  both  sexes  jilayed  about  in  a  state 
of  nature,  though  some  wore  a  shirt,  and  the  women  appeared  to 
have  on  otd\-  the  one  garment,  made  of  two  small  black  blankets 
.sewed  together  on  their  side  edges  and  caught  over  the  ri>^lit 
shoulder  and  under  the  left.  The  Moki  women  wear  moccasins 
onh'  in  the  ceremonials,  or  on  some  state  occasion,  or  when  travel- 
ling.    They  rarely  travel. 

Catlin  gave  a  great  deal  of  attention  to  the  costumes  of  the 
Amerinds  he  travelled  amongst  and  painted,  and  a  reference  to 
his  works  opens  up  a  world  of  detail  that  cannot  be   jiresented 

'John  \V.  I)e  l-'orrest,  //is/on  0/ the  Indians  i\f  Coiiucitii til,  p]).  9  11 


lii 


1 


1:, 


t  ' 


) 


•  44  The  Xortli-Amcricans  of  Vcstcrtlay 


r,»    ( 


iii 


here.  Some  of  his  most  iiiterL'Stin,!:,^  -vork  was  amongst  the  Maii- 
daiis,  of  Dakota  stock,  in  tlie  year  iS;^j.'  I  will  <im)te  from  him 
some  t;eneral  remarks  on  the  Maiidaii  costume.  "  The  .Maiidaiis, 
in  many  instances,  dress  very  neatly,  and  some  of  them  splendidlw 
As  they  are  in  their  native  state,  their  dresses  are  all  of  their  own 
manufaclure,  and,  of  course,  altoj^etlier  made  of  skins  of  different 
animals  belonj^injjj  to  those  re^nons.  There  is,  certainly,  a  reij^n- 
inj:^  and  striking  similarity  of  costume  amongst  most  of  the  North- 
western tribes,  and  I  cannot  .say  that  the  dress  of  the  Mandans  is 
decidedly  distinct  from  that  of  the  Crows  or  the  lilackfeet,  the 
.\ssinil)oins,  or  the  Sioux  '  ;  \et  there  are  modes  of  stitching  or 
enjbroidering  in  ever\-  tribe  which  may  at  once  eii.d)le  the  traveller 


ilwme;' 


Y? 


I 


U.  >.  liu.  lib. 

MiiKl     WAI.I.    Ill  ic)K  A  I  loN.        I'lNK    i  )\    A    Ulllll.    liUnlNI). 
.MIM|iiNi,Nr\  1,    AU1/"NA 

who  is  familiar  with  their  modes  to  detect  or  distinguish  the  dre.ss 
of  any  tribe.  Thesj  dilTerences  consist  generallv  in  the  fashions 
of  constructing  the  head-dre.-is,  or  of  garnishing  their  dresses  with 
the  ]H)rcupine  (juills,  which  thev  use  in  great  profusion. 
The  tunic,  or  sliiii,  of  the  Manihui  men  is  ver\'  simil.ar  in  shape  to 
tlial  of  tln'  niackfeet  made  of  two  skins  of  deer,  or  mounlain- 
.sheep,  .strung  with  scalp-locks,  beads,  ;ind  ermine.  The  legginj^s, 
like  those  of  tht  other  tril)es  of  whiili  1  have  .spoken,  are  maile  of 
(kei,-.kins  and    -liaped  to  lit  the  K::    embroidered  with  ])oicu])iiir 

'  C;illiii  had  woiiik-irul  >»uitTNS  in  piTsuailiiii.;  .Xii'iriuils  ti)  posi-  for  liim. 
Wlun  I  wi'iU  am()iii4^t  tlir  Navajos  ami  Mokis  in  i.S,S4  S5  I  fdini'l  it  m-xt  to 
iin|)r)ssihlr  to  i^i  t  tluiii  lo  >U  lol  lUr.  '.  >Ill\  otlr  solilarv  siniiimii  in  tlu- 
wlioU-  legion  was  williu}.,'  to  run  the  risk.  It  was  ronsidcrcd  very  "had 
iMi-diiim-." 

Tlu'  Crows,  ,Siou.\,  .Ma!iil.m->,  and  A^simlioins  arc  llie  same  stuck— tlu* 
Dakota  or  Siouan. 


W'caviii''   aiul   Costiiim; 


145 


(juills,  and  fringed  with  scalps  from  their  enemies'  heads.  Tlieir 
moccasins  are  made  of  buckskin,  and  neatly  ornamented  with 
porcupine  (juills.  Over  their  shoulders  (or,  in  other  words,  over 
one  shoulder  and  passinj;  under  tlie  other)  they  very  gracefully 
Wear  a  rohi;  from  a  young  hulTalos  hack,  oftentimes  cut  down  to 
aliout  half  of  its  original  si/e,  to  make  it  handy  and  easy  for  use. 
Many  of  these  are  al.-.o  fringed  on  one  side  with  .scalp-locks,  and 
the   llesh   side  of  th;  .skin   curiously  ornamented   with  pictured 


it 


^!« 


I  .  .s.  |i,i.  K.ii 


111  M   \i  iioi  \s 


representations  of  the  creditable  events  and  battles  of  their  lives. 
Their  head-ilressL'S  are  of  \arious  sorts,  and  manv  of  them  ex- 
ceedingly pictures(|ue  and  hantlsome,  generally  made  of  war-eagles' 
or  ravens'  quills  and  ermine.  'Phi.'se  are  the  most  costly  part  of 
an  Indian's  dress  in  all  this  country,  owing  to  the  di/Ticulty  of 
procuring  the  cpiills  and  the  fur  :  the  war-eagle  being  tlie  nixi 
ti:/.\  and  the  ermine  the  rarest  animal  that  is  found  in  the  coiuitr\ .  " 
Callin  gave  two  horses  for  one  of  the  head-dre.s.ses.  'I'hi-.  ^Kvimeii 
came  down  to  the  wearer's  feet.  These  are  now  calltd  "  war- 
boiiuets,"  ajid  are  .still  in  nse  among  the  Sionx  and  other  tril>es. 
"  There  is  occasionallv,  "  continucN  Callin,      a  chief  or  a  warrior 


If* 


■  : 


;< 


t 


146  The   North-Americans  of  Yesterday 

of  so  extraordinary  renown  that  he  is  allowed  to  wear  horns  on 
his  head-dress,  which  give  to  his  aspect  a  strange  and  majestic 
effect.  These  are  made  of  aliout  a  third  part  of  the  horn  of  a 
Ijuffalo  bull,  the  horn  having  been  split  from  end  to  end,  and  a 
third  part  of  it  taken  and  shaved  thin  and  light  and  highly 
polished.  These  are  attached  to  the  top  of  the  head-dress  on  each 
side  in  the  same  place  that  they  rise  and  stand  on  the  head  of  a 


I  ' 


l!  i. 


■  i'f 


U.  S.  Bu.  Eth. 

TOI'  \  lEW  C»K  <;()NICAL  NORTH-WF.ST    COAST    HAT 
Made  of  spruce  roots  ornaimenKeiJ  in  red  and  black  paint,  uith  tuteinic  dc\icc  nf  a  raven 

See  liiiure  page  160 


buffalo,  rising  out  of  a  mat  of  ermine  skins  and  tails,  which  hang 
over  the  top  of  the  head-dress  somewhat  in  the  form  that  the  large 
and  profuse  locks  of  hair  hang  and  fall  over  the  head  of  a  buffalo 
l)ull."  This  head-dress  with  \v  ,  "  is  used  only  on  certain  occa- 
sions, and  they  are  very  seldom."  ' 

Among  the  Oniahas,  also  of  Dakota  stock,  garments,  Dorse^- 


'Ciillin,  Stnithsonian  Report,  1SS5,  pp.  450,  451. 


I 


\V<-a\inL;-  and   C(>stuni(: 


'4: 


says,  "  were  usually  made  by  the  women,  while  men  made  vhcir 
weapons.  .  .  .  There  is  no  distinction  between  the  attire  of 
dii,Miitaries  and  that  of  tlie  conunon  people."  ' 

T''.e  Makahs  of  the  North-west  re;^ion  {{'.  vS.  i  manufacture  a 
kind  of  clolh  out  of  ce(hir  hark.  "  The  inner  h.irk  is  selerted, 
boiled,  or  macerated,  and  then  pounded  and  halcheled  out.  The 
bark  is  made  to  lorm  the  warp,  the  woof  bciti";  made  of  j;rass 
thread.  This  stuff  is  pliable,  and 
makes  a  convenient  outer  garment. 
\'ery  jiretty  capes,  edited  with  .sea- 
otter  skin,  are  made  of  it.  This  tribe 
also  are  the  principal  mauuficturers 
of  the  cedar  mats  which  are  used  on 
the  vSound.  TliLse  are  entirely  of 
bark,  formed  into  narrow  strips,  and 
woven  on  the  i\oov.  Tliey  are  thin 
and  perfectly  e\-en  in  texture."  '" 
Amoui:^  the  trii)es  of  the  North-west  : 
"  The  women  iniiversally  wore  a 
breech-clout  of  strands  slathered 
around  the  waist  and  failini;"  usually 
to  the  knees.  .  .  .  With  the  men  lio 
idea  of  modesty  existed."  '  '11. e\- 
sometimes  wear  a  bearskin  with  the 
hiir  out  tied  around  t!v  throat. 
"  Their  hats,  when  tli(.>'  wea,  uiy, 
are  of  the  conical  form  conunon  alony; 
the  coast."  *  A  conic;d  wicker  hat 
similar  to  the  Japanese  shape  is  fotuid 
amouji^  the  Tlinkits  (Koluschan)  and 
Chinuuesyan  up  on  the  Alaskan  coast. 
I  sav  several  at  vSitka  in  the  summer 
of  iSc)9,  but  not  in  use.  The  he  I'l  coveriujj:  of  various  tribes  differs 
considerably.  The  skull-cap,  woven  like  a  basket,  was  never  found, 
s  )  far  as  I  know,  in  the  Mississippi  reL;ion.     The  Pai  I'tes  fornieil\- 

'  Dorst'v,  "  Onialiii  StK'iolo.yy,"  Tliird.litn.  A'r/'>f.  Hit.  I'.tli.,  p.  ,',ii'. 
■  (leo.  Ciihhs,   "  Tril)(.'S  of  Wi-sterii  WashiuvitoM  and  Xortli-wi'.sttrii  Ore 
gon,"  / '.  .S".  (7.  S.  l\>ii/iih.,  vol.  i.,  j)artii.,  p.  220. 
'  //> ;'(/.,  ])   219. 
Uhid..  i>.  176. 


U  I  iN-l\  I  ,     \     V  W    I    11     i.ll;l 

I'tmiii  iilMitoyr.ipli  liy  the  Cul  ir.iil  ■  l\i\  tr 
Survt.-y,  iHyt 


I 


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14 


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1  '   , 


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I'lic   Nortli-Amcricans  of  \'cstcrcla\' 


!. 


wore  caps,  or  at  least  some  of  thetii  did,  the  incii  wearitij;  a  little 
buckskin  affair  tied  under  the  cliin  with  strings.  Tlie  remainder 
of  their  costume  often  consisted  of  a  string  around  the  waist  from 
which  was  suspended  front  an  1  rear  a  cloth  of  buckskin  reaching 
half  way  to  the  ground.  Others  wore  fine  buckskin  suits  ;  a 
fringed  shirt  and  fringed  k'ggings  reaching,  like  those  of  the 
Dakota,  to  the  waist.     The  southern  Utah  women  wore  conical 


1  -w^ 


I* 


1 


!i 


A    N\\\|il    1  I    \l>l  K     IN     N\ll\l      (i.-IIMK 
r'iiiure  fniiii  |ilii>lii^r,i|ili  liy  tin-  l'.  S.  linn-  .1  ..f  I-'tliii..loL;y 

caps  of  wicker-work,  like  a  bowl  upsi^le  down,  cxcejit  that  tlu  >• 
had  a  little  jxiint  at  tht;  top.'  The  women's  garment  was  of  buck- 
skin, attached  at  the  neck  and  hanging  down  before  and  behind 
to  below  the  knee,  open  at  the  sides,  and  l)ound  aromid  the  waist 
bv  a  1iuckskin  sash.  There  was  a  ])lentifid  adorinnent  of  buckskin 
fiinge  also.  The  feet  were  bare  except  in  cold  weather,  when 
moccasins  were  worn.  The  younger  women  wore  a  narrow  band 
around  the  brow  com]V)sed  of  two  bm-kskin  strings,  covered  with 
porcupine    (|uills,    which    were    interwoven    \q    ]\}\\}\    Ml'-"    strings 

'  The  same  kind  of  a  wiikir  lap  is  worn  hy  uuiiiy  LMIlhillliil  .\iiu»iii<ls. 


7    i 


'  u; 


!  .1 


ti' 


i=;o 


llu:   North-Americans  of  W'stcrchiy 


j. 

Hi 


lo>f ether,  and  the  uieii  often  wore  a  huad-dress  of  feathers,  which 
stood  str.iiKlit  up  around  the  crown.  In  both  men  and  women  the 
hair  was  allowed  to  han^  down,  brushed  back  from  the  face  with- 
out braids  of  an>-  kind.  The  Xavajo  men  wear  a  sort  of  turban  ; 
a  piece  of  red  cloth  or  a  bandana  twisted  around  the  brow,  the  hair 
being  done  up  in  a  kind  of  (ireek  knot  behind.  Their  clothes 
consist  of  a  shirt  or  jacket  of  cotton  goods,  and  trousers  of  the  .same 
stuff  reaching  to  just  IkIow  the  knee  and  slashed  upon  the  outside 
for  about  eight  inches.  They  sometimes  wear  close-fitting  breeches 
with  leggings.  This  garment  is  generally  held  at  the  waist 
by  a  belt,  which  is  often  richl>'  decorated  by  discs  of  .silver  al)out 
two  by  four  inches  elaborritely  engraved  in  their  native  style.  The 
trousers  are  sometimes  bound  in.side  the  leggings.  Their  leggings 
are  of  buckskin,  red  or  black,  frecjuently  fastened  on  the  outside  by 
a  row  of  silver  half-globe  buttons  of  their  own  make  and  woven 
garters,  some  three  feet  long,  twisted  around  above  the  calf.  The 
leggings  are  also  applied  without  any  buttons  when  they  are  laid 
by  the  garters.  The  moccasin  is  one  finely  made,  red  or  black,  or 
the  natural  tan  colour,  with  a  rawhide  sole  turned  up  all  round, 
and,  like  the  leggings,  often  fastened  by  several  silver  buttons. 
The  Xavajos  are  extremely  fond  of  l)lack.  The  hair  of  the  women 
is  i)arted  and  tied  in  a  knot  behind  very  nuich  the  .same  as  that  of 
the  men.  Their  dress  is  now  very  like  that  of  Moki  women, 
that  is,  a  garment  that  is  attached  over  the  right  shoulder,  under 
the  left,  and  I'alls  about  half  way  between  the  knees  and  the 
groiuid,  usually  caught  in  at  the  wai.st  by  a  sash  or  belt.  Also 
like  the  Moki  women  they  wear  a  kind  of  combined  mocca.sin  and 
legging,  on  certain  occasions.  This  is  a  rawhide-soleil  mocca.sin 
with  a  long  narrow  top-piece  which  is  wound  round  and  round  the 
leg  after  the  moccasin  is  put  on,  and  gives  an  almost  straight  line 
from  the  knee  down,  almost  exactly  the  same  as  the  Moki  custom. 
Ill  fact,  su  far  as  garments  are  concerned,  it  might  often  be  diflicult 
lo  tell  Xavajo  atid  Moki  women  apnrt.  The  Moki  women  wear 
their  hair  diiTerently  ;  the  married  ones  making  two  cues  of  it 
which  hang  down  on  each  side  of  the  face,  usually  in  front  of  the 
shoulders,  whilj  the  unmarried  ones  have  theirs  done  up  in  two 
extraordinary  wheels  or  discs  standing  parallel  with  the  side  of 
the  face  or  head,  and  attached  to  it  l)y  a  sort  of  axle  wound  round 
with  .string.  ThiselTect  is  obtained  by  first  dividing  the  hair  into 
two  equal  parts,  drawing  each  part  to  its  side  of  the  head  and 


W'cavin'if  «inil  CostuiuL' 


i^i 


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K 


wituliiiR  it  with  string  just  above  the  ear,  ami  a  little  behind  it. 
ICach  division  is  then  again  divided,  horizontally,  into  two  e<|iial 
parts,  and  these  parts  are  carefully  brushed  around  a  curved  stick, 
like  a  letter  V,  held  with  the  opening  sidewise,  the  upper  one  down 
and  around  and  the  lower  one  up  and  around,  till  they  are  com- 
pletely wr)und  over  the  V  atid  spread  out  as  nuich  as  possible  at 
llie  same  time.  Then  they  are  tied  in  the  middle  with  a  string, 
that  is,  between  the  arms  of  the  11,  and  finally,  before  withdraw- 
ing the  U,  the  two  portions  are  fully  .spread,  till  when  the  I'  is 
taken  out,  and  they  are  further  arranged,  they  almost  meet  and 
form  a  perfect  wheel  or  circle.  In  ordinar>-  practice  they  do  not 
meet,  but  resemble  a  well  tied  b;)w-knot  of  broad  ribl)OJi ;  but  when 
a  girl  has  a  fine  head  of  hair  that  has  been  well  cared  for,  and  her 
mother  takes  a  pride  in  dressing  her  hair  for  any  ceremony  or 
feast  day,  the  wheel  is  al- 
most perfect.  This  pecidiar 
method  of  hair-dressing  is 
now  found  nowhere  else  in 
the  world,  except  among  the 
unmarried  women  of  the 
Coyotero  Apaches,  who  are 
said  to  wear  a  coil  .some- 
thing like  it. 

vSome  of  the  Pueblo  woujen  tie  their  hair  in  a  knot  behind 
like  the  Xavajo  women  ;  in  fact,  both  Navajo  women  and  men 
clo.sely  resemble  the  Pueblo  in  their  dre.ss,  the  reason  in  my  opin- 
ion being  that  advanced  before  :  namely,  the  incorporation  of 
Puel)lo  stock.  The  Moki  men  also  sometimes  wear  their  hair 
like  Xavajos,  but  full-blood  Navajos  have  taken  up  their  residence 
with  the  Moki,  so  it  may  be  confined  to  these  and  tiieir  child- 
ren. The  regular  Moki  method  of  dressing  a  man's  hair  is  to 
"  bang  "  it  across  the  eyebrows,  cut  the  .side  locks  straight  back 
on  the  lower  line  of  the  ear,  and  gather  tlie  remainder  into  a  knot 
beliind.'     The  brush  used  is  composed  of  a  bunch  of  stifi"  grass 


U.  S.  Itu.  Kill. 

riKlll.u    lll.AH    MAI 


I 


'  Cusliing  Siiys  of  the  early  Zuiiis  :  "They  wore  but  scant  clothiiij^  he- 
sides  their  robes  and  blankets — breech-cloths  ami  kills,  short  for  the  men. 
lonji^  for  the  women,  and  tnaiie  of  shredded  bark  and  rushes  or  fibre;  san- 
df.Is  also  of  fibre.  .  .  .  The  hair  was  bobbed  to  the  level  of  the  eyebn  ws 
it  front,  'mt  left  lonj{  and  hanging  at  the  back,  etc." —  T/iirtecuth  Ann.  A*d*  •>/. 
R.      ':7//  ,  p.  35'^. 


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23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  NY.  14580 

(716)  872-4503 


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■■I\ 


152 


Thii   North-AiiK-riccins  of  VcsttTclax 


tied  round  the  middle  with  a  string.  Hotli  Navajo  and  Moki  nit.n 
as  well  as  those  of  other  tribes  now  wenr  white  men's  trousers 
when  ol)tainal)le.     The  costumes  worn  in  the  various  ceremonials 


U.  S.  Hu.  Eth. 


NAVAJOS 

of  the  Navajos,  Pueblos,  Iroquois,  and  other  Amerinds  are  so 
numerous  and  so  varied  that  there  is  no  space  in  a  chapter  like 
this  for  a  description  of  them. 


i'  '    *,i 


Weaving-  and  Costume  i:;; 

III  the  line  of  embroidery  conies  the  beadwork.  see  p.   325, 
the  onmnieiitation  with  quills,  and  embroidery  with  varus.     I  n-iVl 
only  meutiou  the  eiubroidery  of  the  Mokis,  which  is  doue  oii  the 
euds  of  broad  cottou  sashes,  with  coloured  yarns.      This  is  the 
only  form  in  which  I  have  seen  it.      The  pattern  is  elaborate, 
and  often  a   foot   or  more  at  each  end   of  a  sash    will    be   thu.s 
ornamented.     The   Pueblo   women    wore  a  roll    on  the  head  on 
which  a  water-jar  was  balanced.     Coroiiado  mentions  this  thus  : 
"  I  also  send  two  rolls,  such  as  the  women  u.sually  wear  on  their 
heads  when  they  bring-  water  from  the  spring;,  the  same  wav  that 
they  do  in  Spain.     One  of  these  Indian  women,  with  one  of  these 
rolls  on  her  head,  will  carry  a  jar  of  water  up  a  ladder  without 
touching  it  with  her  hand.s."  '     Some  of  the  Pueblo  women  still  use 
rings  to  carry  water-jars  on  their  heads.     See  figure  on  page  151. 
Jaramillo  speaks  of  the  natives  of  the  first  village  of  "  Cibola  " 
as  having  clothing  of  "  deerskin.s,  very  carefully  tanned,  and  thev 
also  prepare  some  tanned  cowhides,  with  which  they  cover  them- 
selves, which  are  like  .shawls  and  a  great  protection'     They  have 
square  cloaks  of  cotton,  some  larger  than  others,  about  a  yard  and 
a  half  long.     The  Indians  wear  them  thrown  over  the  shoulder 
like  a  gypsy  and  fastened  with  one  end  over  the  other,  with  a 
girdle,  also  of  cotton."  '     Other  Pueblos  of  New  Mexico  he  de- 
scribes as  having  "  some  long  robes  of  feathers  which  the}-  braid, 
joining  the  feathers  with  a  sort  of  thread  ;  and  they  also  make 
them  of  a  sort  of  plain  weaving  with  which  they  make  the  cloaks 
with  which  they  protect  themselves."     In  the  /^!,^/ar/^n  Postrcra, 
the  Cibola  dress  is  described  also,  and  I  add  it  here  because  the.se 
accounts  .show  so  conclusively  that  the  art  of  weaving  was  in  full 
practice  in  this  northern  country  before  the  Europeans  entered  it. 
"  Some  of  these  people  wear  cloaks  of  cotton  and  of  the  magnev 
(or  Mexican  aloe)  and  of  tanned  deerskin,  and  they  wear  shoes 
made  of  these  skins,  reaching  up  to  the  knees.     They  also  make 
cloaks  of  the  skins  of  hares  and  rabbits,  with  which  they  cover 
theuLselves.     The  women  wear  cloaks  of  the  maguey,  reaching 
down  to  the  feet,   with  girdles  :  they  wear  their  hair  gathered 
about  the  ears  like  little  wheels."  '     I  would  .specially  call  atten- 
tion to  the  similnrity  to  the  costume  of  the  pre.sei.t  Moki,  even  to 

'  "Coronado  Letter,'  Fourtenith  Ann.  Rcpt.  Bu.  Ei/i.,  p.  562. 
'  "Narrative  of  Jaramillo,"  /hid.,  pp.  5,86,  587. 
=  "  Relaci6n  Po.strerade  Sivola,"  IbhL,  p.  569. 


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154 


The   North- Americans  of  Yesterday 


the  hair-dreasing.  The  Seminole  men  had  a  singular  way  of  wear- 
ing their  hair.  It  was  cut  "  close  to  the  head,  except  a  strip  about 
an  inch  wide,  running  over  the  front  of  the  scalp  from  temple  to 
temple,  and  another  strip,  of  about  the  same  width,  perpendicular 


U.  S.  I^ii.  Kth. 


SKMINOLK    MAN  S    ANIl    WOMAN  S    COSirME 


M  y 


lift  n 


to  the  former,  crossing  the  crown  of  the  head  to  the  nape  of  the 

neck.     At  each  temple  a  heavN'  tuft  was  allowed  to  hang  to  the 

bottom  of  the  lobe  of  the  ear.     The  long  hair  of  the  strip  crossing 

to  the  neck  is  generally  gathered  and  braided  into  two  ornamental 

queues."  '     The  mustache  is  worn  among  the  vSeminole,  Navajo, 

'  C.  MacCauley,  "vSemiiiole  Itulians  of  riorida,"  Fi///i  Ami.  Kept.  Bii. 
^Jh.,  p.  4S6. 


n 


Weavinij:  and  Costume 


.■^>") 


Tlinkit,  Eskimo,  and  other  tribes.  Some  Eskimo  shave  a  round 
place  on  the  crown  of  the  head.  Some  Amerinds  also  wear  a 
small  beard. 

Alany  Amerinds,  especially  the  men,  wore,  as  before  mentioned, 
nothing  whatever  in  mild  weather,  and  even  in  wint-r  the  dress 
of  some,  especially  in  the  more  southerly  regions,  was  far  from 
elaborate.  I  remember  one  February,  in  the  mountains  of  Ari- 
zona, visiting  a  camp  of  vShevwits  to  have  a  talk  with  the  chief. 
Proceeding  toward  his  wikiup,  I  found  him  near  it  lying  naked," 
l)asking  in  the  sun,  only  partly  covered  by  a  rabbit-skin  robe. 
He  seemed  to  be  warm  and  happy,  the  spot  being  a  sheltered  one 
in  a  canyon,  and  the  ra>s  of  the  sun  being  comfortably  warm.  In  a 
Journal  of  a  Voyaoc  to  Ncio  York  in  i6y(;-So,  the  authors,  speaking 


U.  S.  }!n.  Kth. 

KAK-l'KKrdK  AI'IXC    AND    HAI  K-DKKSSI.NC    ()|-    SKMINMI.KS 

of  the  natives  near  Sandy  Hook,  said  :  "  Thev  wear  something  in 
front,  over  the  thighs,  and  a  piece  of  duffels,  like  a  blanket, 
around  the  body,  and  this  is  all  the  clothing  they  have.  Their 
hair  hangs  down  from  their  head  in  strings,  weli  .smeared  with 
fat,  and  .sometimes  with  quantities  of  little  beads  twisted  in  it  ont 
of  pride."  ' 

•  Mruioirs  Loug  Island  Hist,  Soc,  vol.  i.,  p.  99,   "Journal  of  a  Vovatre 
to  New  York  in  1679-80."  '    ' 


If 


If" 


I  mh 


n 


1 1 


f! 


I .: 


\:\ 


r  ^"^ 


n 


156  The   Xortli-Amcricans  ot    Yesterday 

In  war  the  bodj-  was  generally  naked  in  many  tribes.'  The 
Navajo  warrior  wore  absolutely  r.othing  but  the  breecli-cloLh,  and 
[  am  not  sure  that  he  wore  even  that.  In  some  tribes  the  warriors 
wore  a  head-dress,  either  a  kind  of  turban  or  a  featlier  li(;ad-dress. 
The  Dakotas  wore  their  long  trailing  war-bonnets  of  ff.athers,  or 
not  possessing  one,  certain  feathers  in  their  hair,  according  to  tlieir 
standing  as  warriors  ;  and  sometimes  their  leggings.  Of  course 
each  carried  bow,  quiver,  shield,  and  such  weapons  of  his  trilje  as 
were  in  vogue.  On  the  North-west  coast  a  protective  armour  was 
employed,  and  such  a  practice  obtained  in  other  regions,  notably 
among  the  A/tecs  and  other  Mexicans,  who  made  a  thick  quilted 
cotton  armour,  as  was  noted  in  the  quotations  from  Pre.scott. 
The  subject  of  armour,  however,  belongs  to  another  chapter.  The 
wearing  of  rings  in  the  nose  and  ears,  and  the  perforation  of  the 
ears,  while  a  part  of  costume,  more  properly  belongs  to  customs. 
In  the  "  gho.st  "  excitement  of  a  few  years  ago,  special  shirts  were 
dontied,  and  in  the  battles  resulting  from  this  craze,  these  shirts 
were  worn  because  the}-  were  thought  to  be  proof  against  bullets 
and  all  other  weapons.  "  During  the  dance,"  says  Mooney,  "  it 
was  worn  as  an  outside  garment,  but  was  said  to  be  worn  at  other 
times  under  the  ordinary  dress.  Alihougli  the  shape,  fringing, 
and  feather  adornment  were  practically  the  same  in  every  case, 
considerable  variation  existed  in  regard  to  the  painting,  the  de- 
signs on  some  being  very  simple,  while  the  others  were  fairly 
covered  with  representations  of  sun,  moon,  and  stars,  the  .sacred 
things  of  their  mythology,  and  the  visions  of  the  trance.  The 
feathers  attached  to  the  garment  were  alwa3'S  those  of  the  eagle, 
and  the  thread  used  in  the  .sewing  was  always  the  old-time  sinew. ' '  " 
The  approved  material  of  the  "  gho.st-shirt  "  was  buckskin,  but 
where  this  could  not  be  had  the  .shirt  was  made  of  cotton  cloth. 

In  the  Far  North,  clothing  is  imperative  all  the  3'ear  round,  and 
about  every  minute  of  the  time,  out-of-doors.  Yet  the  garments 
of  the  Eskimo  often  do  not  quite  meet  around  the  waist,  so  that  in 
bending  over  the  bare  back  is  exposed  to  the  cold.  In  their  houses, 
too,  they  often  wear  very  little  ;  nothing  more  than  a  kind  of  deer- 
skin drawers.     The  material  of  their  clothing  is  entirely  fur-skins; 

'  See  chapter  ou  Weapons,  aud  note  also  the  quotatiou  from  Prescott 
— pp.  134  and  136. 

■•'  James  IMooney,  "The  Ghost-Dance  Religion,"  Fourteenth  Ann.  Rept. 
Bti.  Et/i.,  pp.  7S9,  790;  see  also  Chap.  IX.,  this  work. 


•' 


'!*:     ,.! 


r 


Weaving-  and   Costume 


:?/ 


thonj;]i  the  Hudson  Bay  Ivskinio  sometimes  wear  trousers  of  jean, 
or  (knim,  obtained  in  trade.  Up  to  a  certain  aj;e  the  children  of 
both  sexes  are  dressed  much  alike,  and  the  smaller  ones  scrabbling 
about  the  bottom  of  a  umiak,  or  skin  boat,  can  hardly  be  distin- 
guished at  first  glance  from  some  kind  of  a  bear  cub.  At  Plover 
Hay,  Siberia,  where  the  natives  resem'^le  the  Eskimo,  I  saw  one 
small  child  in  arms,  that  seemed  to  be  completely  sewed  up  in 
skins  with  the  hair  side  in,  its  arms  and  legs  looking  like  the 


U.S.  l!ii.  F.ih. 

iiiK  Girosr-sMiK  r,   simii.k  i-nmt 

Stumps  left  after  a  surgical  operation.  Of  the  skin 
of  the  child  nothing  was  to  be  seen  except  its 
face,  its  head,  too,  being  entirely  enveloped.  This 
was  in  the  middle  of  July,  when  the  far-away  Moki  children 
would  be  .scurrying  about  without  a  thread  to  disguise  them. 
The  children  of  the  Eskimo  proper,  on  our  side  of  Bering 
Strait,  were  clothed,  as  mentioned,  in  skins  with  the  fur  side 
out.     Reindeer,  otter,  fox,  and  seal  seem  to  furnish  the  bulk  of 


if 


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,     I    :T 


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^11 


158 


The  North-Americans  of  Yesterchiy 


their  furs,  but  a  number  of  other  skins  and  furs  are  used  when 
they  can  j;et  them.  Murdoch,  Boas,  and  Turner  have  given  such 
careful  detailed  accounts  of  the  Ivskimo  in  the  various  regions  tliey 
visited,'  that  I  lefer  the  reader  to  them  for  full  information,  pre- 
senting here  only  sufficient  to  convey  a  general  idea  of  the  cloth- 
ing. "  The  chief  material  (at  Point  Barrow;  is  the  skin  of  the 
reindeer  (caribou),"  says  Murdoch,   "  which  is  used  in  various 

stages  of  pelage.  Fine,  short- 
haired  summer  skins,  especially 
those  of  does  and  fawns,  are  used 
for  making  dress  garments  and 
underclothes.  The  heavier  skins 
are  used  for  every -day  working 
clothes,  while  the  heaviest  winter 
skins  furnish  extra  warm  jackets 
for  cold  weather,  warm  winter 
stockings  and  mittens. 
The  man's  dress  consists  of  the 
usual  loose  hooded  frock,  without 
opening  except  at  tlie  neck  and 
wrists.  This  reaches  iust  over  the 
hips,  rarely  about  to  mid-thigh, 
where  it  is  cut  off  square,  and 
is  usually  confined  by  a  girdle  at 
tlie  waist.  Under  this  garment 
is  worn  a  similar  one,  usually  of 
lighter  .skin  and  sometimes  with- 
out a  hood.  The  thighs  are  clad 
in  one  or  two  pairs  of  tight-fit- 
ting knee-breeches,  confined  round 
the  hips  by  a  girdle  and  usually 
secured  by  a  drawstring  below  the  knee,  which  ties  over  the  tops 
of  the  boots.  On  the  legs  and  feet  are  worn,  first,  a  pair  of  long, 
deer.skin  stockings  with  the  hair  inside  ;  then  .slippers  of  tanned 
sealskin,  in  the  bottom  of  which  is  spread  a  layer  of  whalebone 
shavings,  and  outside  a  pair  of  close-fitting  boots,  held  in  place 
round  the  ankle,  usually  reaching  above  the  knee,  and  ending 

'Murdoch,  "The  Point  Barrow  Eskimo,"  Ninth  Ann.  Rept.  Bu.  Eth., 
Boas,  "The  Central  Eskimo,"  Sixth  Ann.  Rept.  Bu.  Eth.;  Turner,  "Hud- 
son Bay  Eskimo,"  Eleventh  Ann.  Rept.  Bu.  Eth. 


U.  S.  P.ii.  Kth. 

l-.SKIMf)    HOOTS 


Weaving  and  Costume 


•59 


by  a  string  with  a  rough  edge,  which  is  covered  by  the  l)reechL's. 
.  .  .  Tlie  l)oots  are  of  reindeer  skin,  with  wliite  sealskin  soles 
for  winter  and  dry  weather,  but  in  summer  waterproof  boots  of 
black  sealskin  with  soles  of  white  whaleskin,  etc.,  are  worn."  ' 

The  woman's  frock  is  much  like  the  man's,  in  the  Point  I'larrow 
region,  only  it  has  tails,  or  aprons,  front  and  rear,  rounded  at  the 
l)ottoni.  In  the  Hudson  Hay  region,  this  garment  is  shaped  more 
at  the  waist,  and  the  tails  are  lance-shaped  and  narrower,  while  the 
front  one  is  much  shorter  than  the  back.  At  Point  Barrow  there 
is  also  worn  by  the  men  a  cloak  or  mantle  of  deerskin,  in  extremely 
cold  weather.  These  cloaks  are  put  on  over  the  head,  and  fall 
down  all  round,  being  fastened  at  the  throat  by  strings.  They 
are  not  of  one  piece.  The  men's  leg  coverings  come  only  to  the 
knee,  but  the  women's  are  long  enough  to  reach  from  the  feet  to 
the  waist,  and  the  moccasin  is  attached  to  the  bottom.  The  edge 
of  the  moccasin  sole  is  crimped  to  make  it  smaller  at  the  top,  and 
this  is  the  case  with  the  soles  of  the  boots  made.  This  crimping 
is  done  by  the  teeth.  The  wet-weather  boots  are  waterproof  and 
light,  but  there  is  a  diasgreeahle  odour  about  them.  This  odour  is 
more  pronounced  in  some  of  the  hastily  made  stockings  which  are 
worn  inside  the  boots.  I  bought  a  pair  of  the  conunon  .sealskin 
stockings  made  with  hair  side  in  at  Port  Clarence,  but  their  smell 
was  something  unbearable.  For  a  waterproof  garment  they 
take  the  entrails  of  the  seal  and,  splitting  them  longitudinally, 
sew  together  the  strips  thus  obtained  in  the  desired  shape.  Coats 
made  in  this  way  are  durable  and  light,  and  answer  the  purpose 
admirably.  Dr.  Kane  mentions  a  dress  he  saw  where  a  man  wore 
"  booted  trousers  of  white  bearskin,  which  at  the  end  of  the  foot 
were  made  to  terminate  with  the  claws  of  the  animal."  ^ 

In  the  middle  and  upper  Mississippi  region,  according  to 
Hunter,  there  were  tribes  who  made  blankets  of  the  wool  of  the 
buffalo,  notably  the  Osages,  who  were  of  Siouan  stock.  Their 
method  of  procedure  seems  to  have  been  very  like  that  of  the 
Navajos  and  Mokis,  to  whom  they  are  not  related,  except  that  they 
belong  to  the  Amerind  race.  Hunter  says  :  "  The  hair  of  the 
buffalo  and  other  animals  is  .sometimes  manufactured  into  blankets; 
the  hair  is  first  twisted  by  hand  and  wound  into  balls.  The  warp 
is  then  laid  of  a  length  to  answer  the  size  of  the  intended  blanket, 
crossed  by  three  small  .smooth  rods  alternately  beneath  the  threads, 

'  Murdoch.  -Dr.  Kane,  Arctic  Exploration,  vol.  i.,  p.  203. 


I' 

.1 


i  1! 

)  I' 
•  'I 


,[1  ,1 


l:.i 


IP  ; 


I  60 


The  North-Americans  of  Yesterday 


and  secured  at  each  end  to  stronger  rods  supported  on  forks,  at  a 
short  distance  above  the  ground.  Thus  prepared  the  woof  is  filled 
in,  thread  by  thread,  and  pressed  closely  together,  by  means  of  a 
long  flattened  wooden  needle.  When  the  weaving  is  finished,  the 
ends  of  the  warp  and  woof  are  tied  into  knots,  and  the  blanket  is 
ready  for  use. ' '  ' 

'John  D.  Hunter,  Memoirs  0/  a  Captive  among  the  Indians  of  North 
America,  London,  1823,  pp.  289,  290. 


U.  S.  liii.  iLth 


KAIN    HAT,     HAIDA 

See  figure  piige  146 


)  '41''    ' 


U.  S.  Bu.  Kth. 

TOUCAN    OK    SQl'IER    AND    DAVIS,  RF.Al.I.Y    A   CROW 


,  I 


CHAPTER  VII 

CARVING,    MODiaLING,    SCUUPTURB 

THE  shaping  of  objects  in  clay,  wood,  or  stone,  or  other  ma- 
terial, known  as  carving,  modelling,  etc.,  constitutes  sculp- 
ture. Some  form  of  these  methods  was  in  use  in  very 
primitive  times  for  the  production  of  weapons  or  tools  of  wood, 
bone,  or  stone.  But  the  greatest  schools  of  .sculpture  were  ba.sket!  v 
and  pottery,  for  in  the  practice  of  these  arts  a  .sen.se  of  form  and 
proportion  could  not  be  dispen.sed  with.  Thus  .sculpture  finds  its 
birth  in  several  arts,  but  particularly  in  ba.sketry,  stone-shaping, 
and  pottery.  Taken  all  in  all,  the  Mayas  of  Yucatan  seem  to  have 
been  the  greatest  artists  and  sculptors,  and  as  we  travel  northward 
from  there  the  skill  in  art  gradually  diminishes  till,  on  passing  the 
old  Aztec  realm,  it  drops  off  rapidly.  Far  to  the  northward  the 
"  Moundbuilders  "  exhibited  a  moderate  .skill  and  in  some  objects 
a  similarity  to  Mexican  work,  and  .still  farther  to  the  north-west- 
ward the  Haidas,  Kwakiutls,  etc.,  in  their  totem  poles,  canoes, 
etc.,  show  not  only  a  singular  proficienc}'  in  carving  in  wood,  but 
al.so  similarities  to  some  of  the  Mexican  work. 

Masks,  pipes,  rattles,  and  other  ceremonial  paraphernalia  gave 
the  Amerind  sculptor  much  to  do.  It  must  not  be  suppo.sed,  though, 
that  all  members  of  a  tribe  possessed  the  scnlptor's  power.  There 
was  as  much  variation  as  we  now  find  among  ourselves.  It  is  not 
everyone  of  our  people  who  can  model  a  statue,  or  even  carve  the 
rudest  shape  imitating  man.  So  it  was  with  the  Amerind.  He  had 
his  arrow-makers,  his  skilful  potters,  his  great  carvers,  who  were 

I6i 


h^ 


I '}, 


i\ 


H' 


i': 


u 


r  ^^ 


162 


TIk;    Xorth-Aincricans  of  \'<'st(T(la\- 


i>'  i 


if 


hi 


employed  by  the  less  skilful  to  do  their  work.  To-day,  ainoti^  the 
Atnerinds  of  the  North-west  coast,  there  are  specialists  who  carve 
the  totem  poles,  and  obtain  high  prices.  The  totem  poles  and 
house-posts  are  often  elaborate,  being  covered  almost  from  top  to 


Plii)t()i;r.iph  liy  the  UarriiiKin  Alaska  Rxpedition,  1899 

DI-.SKRTKI)   VI:.:,."';F.   NKAK   CAI'K   iox,   ai.aska 
Showiny  arrangement  of  totem  poles  and  houses  alonn  the  shore 

bottom  with  figures  of  totemic  animals.     The  carving  is  often  on 
a  large  scale,  as  the  totem  poles  are  frequently  more  than  fifty  feet 

in  height.  They  are  planted  several  feet  in 
the  ground,  then  there  are  several  feet  plain, 
and  from  that  on  to  near  the  top  they  may  be 
covered  with  carving,  while  surmounting  the 
whole  is  a  figure  —  bird,  fish,  or  bear,  or  other 
animal  —  of  large  proportions.  These  poles 
stand  in  front  of  the  house,'  and  are  an  indica- 
tion of  the  clan  or  clans  to  which  the  person  or 
persons  who  erected  it  belong.  The  Haidas 
and  the  Tlinkits  specially  excel  in  totem  poles. 
The  execution  of  the  figures  is  often  extremely 
good  in  a  barbaric  way.  Besides  the  carved 
poles  there  are  often  the  carved  columns  or  posts 
inside  the  houses.  The.se  posts  serve  to  support 


INTI'.RIOR    HOrSK- 
CKl.rMN 

Sketch    by   author    from 
post  at  Cape  Kox  Village, 
Alaska 


'  Sometimes  two  high  poles  are  set  up,  between  which,  at  a  potlalch  o; 
"grease  feast,"  the  piles  of  blankets  forming  payment  for  a  "copper"  ars 
laid.     These  are  called  "blanket-poles." 


!•:, 


"'I 


Carvini^-,    Modcllini^,   Scul[)tiirc 


the  two  great  rafters  on  which  the  j:;ck- 
rafters  rest,  and  are  often  elaborate.  At 
a  deserted  village  in  south-east  Alaska 
(Cape  I*'ox),  I  saw  two  of  these  col- 
umns, each  representing  a  huge  bird, 
the  whigs  being  split  out  of  cedar, 
quite  thin,  and  attached  to  the  post 
with  a  diagonally  forward  direction,  the 
rest  of  the  bird  being  erect  and  facing 
the  room,  the  posts  being  within  about 
six  feet  of  the  rear  of  the  structure. 
Its  tail  was  carved  out  of  the  post  in  a 
sort  of  bass-relief,  the  reniainder  of  the 
post  being  squared  up  both  below  and 
above,  and  on  the  sides  of  the  fiKure, 
except  where  the  head  was.  Tlie  latter 
had  a  huge  beak,  of  the  carnix  ^rous 
type.  On  the  breast  was  a  singular 
round  face.  The  whole  v,;is  brightly 
painted  in  reds,  yellows,  and  blacks. 
The  accompa?iying  figure  represents 
anotherof  the  house-postsofthi.-i  village 
which  is  now  at  Michigan  (Tniver.sity. 
It  was  similarly  pairited.  The  carving 
of  these  tribes  is  done  almost  entirely 
in  wood,  so  that  had  they  disappeared 
a  century  or  so  before  our  coming  there 
would  have  been  found  scarcely  a  trace 
of  their  work.  In  like  manner  the 
work  of  the  tribes  of  the  Mississippi 
valley  may  have  disappeared — that  is, 
supposing  that  they  carved  in  wood, 
which  is  probable.  There  is  a  great 
similarity  between  the  carving  of  the 
Haida  and  the  Tlinkit  totem  poles,  yet 
these  tribes  are  of  different  stocks.  An 
animal  resembling  a  frog  seems  to  be 
very  common  as  a  totem  in  both  stocks. 
Human  figures  are  also  carved  on  the 
poles,  and  strange  heads  are  frequent. 


10 


MAJOK  I'AKl'ol'  INTF.KIOK  IIurSE- 

I'DSr  I  KdM  lAI'K  I'liX   \  II  I.\(iK, 

S.  r,.   ALASKA 

Presented  to  University  of  Micliitjiin 
tiy  E.  H.  Harrinian.  Height,  ii  ft. 
2  in.  ;  width,  3  ft.  ;  thickness,  n  to  15 
in.  ;  one  piece  of  spruce.  I'ainted 
in  several  colours.  I'hotograph  by 
Professor  Cole,  University  of  .Nlichi- 
nan 


i  f 
I 

i 

T 
If 

ii 


ii  I 


t 


ti, 


Ii 


h  ■ 


M  /{I ; 

I"   III    ) 


ti' 


164  The  Xortli-Amcricans  of  \'csterday 

The  Ilaidas  have  becnnie  famous  for  their  s^i^antic  canoes 
carved  from  single  logs  and  elaborately  decorated.'  The  other 
Amerinds  of  this  region  also  dig  out  fine  boats  from  the  huge  logs 
they  obtain  so  easily  in  the  forest,  but  there  are  none  equal  to 
those  of  the  Haida,  who,  indeed,  recjuire  specialh'  good  boats  for 
navigating  the  waters  around  their   island,    Queen  Charlotte's. 

They  are  the  best  carvers  of  all  the  tribes 
now  living  north  of  Mexico.  Their 
work  is  grotesque,  corresponding  with 
the  singular  mythology  of  the  artists 
and  their  inability  to  render  accurately 
the  forms  they  see  about  them.  Com- 
binations of  human  and  animal  forms 
are  often  seen,  such  as  the  panther-man 
found  by  vSwan  in  this  region — a  crouch- 
ing figure  with  an  attempt  at  a  panther's 
head  and  forelegs,  with  the  hind  legs  hu- 
man. One  of  the  most  remarkable  of  all 
the  Haida  works  from  an  arlistic  point 
of  view  is  the  group  called  the  "  Ik-ar- 
niother, "  "  now  in  the  National  Museum 
at  Washington,  and  made  by  S/^-aou's- 
keaz\  one  of  the  tribe.  It  apparently 
shows  European  influence.  The  lines  are 
more  flowing  and  soft  than  the  ordinary 
Amerind  method  of  execution,  and  the 
conception  is  more  in  range  with  lui- 
ropean  ideas.  This  may  be  accidental, 
however,  and  merely  in  the  line  of  the  sculptor's  development. 
The  material  is  slate.  The  subject  is  a  child  at  the  breast  of  the 
"  Bear-mother."  The  story  of  the  bear-mother,  as  told  by  J.  G. 
Swan,  is  that  "a  number  of  Indian  squaws  were  in  the  woods 
gathering  berries  when  one  of  them,  the  daughter  of  a  chief, 
spoke  in  terms  of  ridicule  of  the  whole  bear  species.  The  bears 
descended  on  them  and  killed  all  but  the  chief's  daughter,  whom 
the  king  of  the  bears  took  to  wife.  She  bore  him  a  child,  half 
human  and  half  bear.     The  carving  represents  the  agony  of  the 

'  There  is  a  fine  speciuieu  iu  the  Atnericau  Museum  of  Natural  History, 
New  York. 

*See  Tat/i  Ami.  Rept.  Bn.  Eth.,  p.  478. 


Skcti  h  by  the  author 

'Idll.M     VO\.Y.    Willi     liKAR 
ON    TIIK    TOP     \VKAN(;KI.1, 


\ 


Carving-,  Modelling-,  Sculpture 


16:; 


mother  in  suckling  this  rougli  and  uncouth  offspring."  From 
an  art  standpoint,  one  failure  in  the  execution  of  this  conception 
,is  that  the  child  does  not  suggest  sufficiently  its  half-bear  char- 
acter. Nevertheless,  it  is  an  ex- 
traordinary work  for  an  Amerind. 
All  the  Amerinds  of  the 
North-west  coast   carve  wooden 


U.  S.  liu.  F.th. 

TI-.KKA-COrrA    SI  All!   11  I.,   CIIIRKjUI. 
ACITAl,  >l/l. 


U.  S.  I'.M.  Kth. 

TiiK  i;i;ar-mi)TIIi;u,  haida, 

N.   W.   COASr 


r 


I 


'A 


!"i 


-  ( 

.J 


■u 


^ 


If 


m 


\r     1 


masks,  but  here  again,  the  Haidas  excel,  though  the  Tlinkits  are 
not  far  behind.  It  is  the  same  with  the  other  work,  boxes,  rattles, 
etc.  Some  of  the  bowls,  hollowed  from  a  .single  piece  of  wood, 
and  carved  on  the  exterior  with  their  strange  figures,  and  polished, 
have  a  decided  artistic  merit.     The   Innuit  also   make  wooden 


'"i'' 

i^ 


■V 


lot) 


I  lu;   Xorth-Amcricans  of  Yesterday 


w  I  y, 


lv;'« 


Un* 


if'    I 


masks,  but  they  are  crude  when  compared  with  those  of  Queen 
Charlotte  Island,  or  the  mainland  in  that  vicinit}'.  One  feature 
of  all  these  North-west  masks,  specially  noted  by  Dall,'  which  re- 
sembles Mexican  carvings,  is  the  protruding  tongue  touching  an 
animal.  The  protruding  tongue  is  an  index  of  life  if  firmly  held 
forth,  according  to  Squier,  while  if  it  is  loose  and  dangling  at  one 

side  i  t  signifies 
death  or  captivity. 
Dall  concludes  that 
the  touch  of  the 
tongue  symbolises 
the  "  transmission 
of  spiritual  quali- 
ties or  powers. "  In 
the  totem  poles  this 
protruding  tongue 
touching  an  animal 
is  connuon,  while 
frequently  the 
tongue  protrudes 
without  touching 
any  other  person 
or  thing.  A  totem 
represents  the  guardian  spirit  of  the  individual  or  clan,  and  there- 
fi)re  the  clo.ser  the  association  with  it  the  better  ;  hence  the  idea 
of  placing  the  tongue  upon  it. 

"  A  person,"  says  Boas,  "  may  have  the  general  crest  of  his 
clan  and,  besides,  use  as  his  personal  crest  such  guardian  spirits 
as  he  has  acquired.  This  accounts  partly  for  the  great  multi- 
plicity of  combinations  of  crests  which  we  observe  on  the  carvings 
of  these  people.  .  .  .  The  crest  is  used  for  ornamenting  ob- 
jects belonging  to  a  member  of  the  clan  ;  they  are  carved  on 
columns  intended  to  perpetuate  the  memorj^  of  a  deceased  rela- 
tive, painted  on  the  house  front  or  carved  on  a  column  which  is 
placed  in  front  of  the  house,  and  are  also  shown  as  masks  in 
festivals  of  the  clan."  "  Some  of  the  grave  monuments  of  the 
Kwakiutls,  the  Chimmesyans,  the  Tlinkits,  and  others  of  the  re- 

'  W.  H.  Dall,  Third  Ann.  Rcpt.  Bu.  Eth.,  p.  112. 

'Fran^  Boas,   "The   Kwakiutl   ludiaus,"  Rep.  Nat.  Mus.,   1895,  pp. 
323.  324. 


1.  Kth. 

W  i)iili|-.N    MASKS 


W.   COASI' 


;;!; 


Carvinn.,    Modellinjj^,   Sculpture 


lo: 


gion  are  anil)itious  carvings  and  represent  considerable  hibonr  on 
the  part  of  the  sculptor.  One  grave  I  saw  at  Caj)e  Fox  was  presided 
over  Ijy  two  huge  wooden  bears,  the  whole  sht.ltereil  by  a  neat 
roof  on  posts  and  surrounded  by  a  balustrade.  The  animals  must 
have  been  at  least 
four  and  a  half  feet 
high.  Boas  de- 
scribes a  grave- 
monument  bird 
carved  out  of  cedar 
bark,  which  is  six 
feet  high  and  about 
twelve  feet  from  tip 
to  tip  of  the  ex- 
tended wings.  This 
bird  is  upright  like 
tlie  one  carved  on 
the  h  ou  se-  post 
niL-nlioned  above, 
and,  like  that,  has 
on  its  stomach  the 
carved  representa- 
tion of  a  face. 
Tliis  bird's  wings 
were  originally 
painted  black  to  re- 
present feathers, 
but  this  decoration 
has  worn  off.  It 
is  now  in  the  Amer- 
ira'i  Museum.  The 
Kwakiutls  also 
have  carved  .some 
statues  in  wood  re- 
presenting chiefs  in  a  state  of  nature.  The.se  are  extremely  crude, 
but  are  superior  to  much  of  the  Moundbuilder  work  as  shown 
in  the  pipes  and  other  carvings  that  have  been  preserved,  and  not 
greatly  behind  the  Mexican.  Double-headed  birds  and  animals 
figure  prominently  among  the  carvings  and  drawings  of  the 
iNorth-west  coast  tribes,   such   as  the   double-headed   "  thunder 


U.  S.  Rii.  F.th. 

KWAKll    ri.    (  ARVINC, 


N.    \V.    COAST 


HI 


••Mi 


•* 


»   ! 


ill 


1-1 


i  111 


I 


Ii 


ill 


1 68 


The   North- Americans  of  Yesterday 


bird,"  the  double-headed  snake,  etc.  Boas  obtained  one  of  the 
latter  among  the  Kwakiutls  which  he  describes  as  having  a 
head  at  each  end  and  a  human  head  in  the  middle.  It  is  forty- 
two  inches  in  length  and  about  six  inches  wide.  It  is  "  worn 
in  front  of  the  stomach  and  secured  with  cords  passing  around 
the  waist."  The  fabulous  animal  this  affair  represents  has  "  the 
power  to  assume  the  shape  of  a  fish.  To  eat  it  and  even  to  touch 
or  to  see  it  is  sure  death,  as  all  the  joints  of  the  unfortunate 


'T  j 


U.  S.  Bu.  Eth, 

KSKIMO   CARVED    IVORY    DRUM-irANDLES.       ^ 

one  become  dislocated,  the  head  being  turned  backward.  But 
to  those  who  enjoy  supernatural  help  it  may  bring  power."  ' 
These  North-west  tribes  seem  to  love  to  carve,  and  decorate  almost 
everything  that  will  admit  of  it  in  this  manner.  In  the  vicinity 
of  Fort  Rupert  there  are  on  the  beach  a  number  of  rock  carvings. 
These  represent  faces  of  sea  monsters,  and  also  some  of  them 
human  faces. 

'Franz  Boas,   "The  Kwakiutl  Ituliaus,"  Rep.  Nat.  J/ns.,  1S95,  pp. 
370,  371- 


? 


Cannng,   jMoclclUng,   Sculpture 


169 


Amongst  the  Eskimos  carving  is  limited,  generally,  to  a  sort  of 
engraving  on  hone  and  ivory,  except  in  the  matter  of  masks,  which 
rre  rudely  shaped  out  of  wood  witliout  any  of  the  elaborate  finish 
that  is  observed  in  the  work  of  Amerinds  farther  south.  The 
wood  they  have  had  to  work  with  is  not  the  kind  that  promotes 
carving,  and  ivory  is  a  rather  difficult  material  to  shape.  Never- 
theless, the}'  occasionally,  form  some  attractive  little  heads  from  it, 
to  adorn  the  end  of  a  harpoon  line  or  something  of  that  sort.  They 
also  shape  their  drill  bows  and  other  implements  to  some  extent 
and  decorate  them  with  neat  engraving.  Some  of  these  decorations 
are  very  pleasing,  and  exhibit  the  same  taste  for  synnnetrical  orna- 
mentation that  is  found  throughout  the  continent.  When  they 
attempt  to  represent  form  they  are  generally  successful  in  giving 
it  the  proper  character  with  less  of  the  childish  grotesqueness  that 
is  seen  in  most  Amerind  work.  How  much  the  long  intercourse 
with  Europeans  on  whalers  has  modified  the  art  efforts  of  the 
Eskimo  it  is  not  possible  to  judge.  Murdoch  '  gives  illustrations 
of  seals  and  whales  shaped  by  the  Point  Barrow  Eskimo,  but  a.side 
from  the  character  of  the  animal  being  generally  fairly  well  ren- 
dered, there  is  little  that  is  artistically  interesting  in  the  work. 
What  I  mean  by  character  is  that  you  can  generally  tell  what  is 
intended  b}'  an  Eskimo  carving,  which  is  not  always  the  case  with 
the  sculptured  efforts  of  other  Amerinds,  though  the  finish  may  be 
better.  Boas  gives  illustrations  of  the  carved  work  of  the  Central 
Eskimo,^  which  show  the  same  characteristics  as  the  Western. 

The  Far  Northern  tribes,  as  a  rule,  are  inferior  to  the  other 
Amerinds,  in  sculptural  work,  yet  the  Eskimo,  mecham'cally, 
were,  in  man}'  respects,  apparently  in  advance  of  all  others.  They 
possessed  the  lamp,  the  only  stock  on  the  continent  who  did,  but, 
after  all,  this  shows  only  the  adaptability  that  saved  them  from 
destruction.  In  a  world  without  fuel  and  with  plenty  of  seal  oil, 
they  would  never  have  survived  if  they  had  not  invented  a  way  to 
.secure  heat  from  the  oil.  The  x\merind  of  the  forested  regions 
had  tio  need  for  a  lamp.  The  possession  of  the  lamp,  therefore, 
is  no  indication  of  higher  mental  powers,  but  of  a  more  severe  en- 
vironment. Nor,  on  the  other  hand,  is  the  limited  amount  of  their 
carving  an  indication  on  their  part  of  inferior  mental  endowment. 
It  is,  again,  the  result  of  circumstances,  as  pointed  out  above.  In 
a  region  without  suitable  material  or  climate  for  extensive  carv- 


t 

ii 


A  i, 


141 


u 


'I 

Tf 


\  '\  I 


il 


t 


"'U 


•  Ninth  Ami.  Rept.  Bii.  Eth. 


KSi.vth  Aim.  Rept.  Bu.  Etii. 


If 


t 


I/O  The   North-Americans  of  Yesterday 


'  t 


!•     i 


ing,  they  Cd  not  carve,  that  is  all.  Place  them  for  a  few  genera- 
tions in  the  region  of  the  Haidas,  and  they  would  begin  to  develop 
many  different  habits  and  traits. 

On  the  Atlantic  coast,  few  specimens  of  sculpture  have,  thus 
far,  been  found,  nor  has  any  carving  of  consequence  been  dis- 
closed.    In  New  Jersey  some  rude  heads  in  stone  have  come  to 

light,  but  such 
finds  are  rare.  As 
the  bounds  of  the 
Mississippi  valley 
are  entered,  how- 
ever, the  art  re- 
m  a  i  n  s  inniiedi- 
ately  increase  in 
importance,  but 
not  to  the  exag- 
gerated extent 
claimed  by  many 
writers.  The  carv- 
ings and  sculp- 
tures of  the  Mis- 
sissippi valley  are, 
like  all  Amerind 
products  in  this 
line,  crude,  and 
there  is  no  warrant 
for  the  claims  that 
the  occupants  of 
the  region  were 
not  "  Indians,"  so 
far  as  these  re- 
mains testify.  The 
most  striking  work  found  up  to  the  present  is  that  of  the  head- 
shaped  vases  from  Pecan  Point,  Arkansas,  but  as  I  have  pointed 
out  before, '  these  vases  were  not  modelled  free-hand,  but  were  the 
result  of  a  process,  are  in  fact  death-masks,  built  into  the  vases. 
While  it  was  a  clever  thing  to  accomplish  these  in  that  way,  yet  it 
is  a  mechanical  method,  and  has  little  to  do  with  artistic  skill. 
Thomas  Wilson  says  of  these  vases  that  they  "  divide  themselves 
'  Chaj).  v.,  and  Atncncan  Anthropologist,  Februar}-,  1S97. 


U.  S.  P.u.  Eth. 

Sl'KiI.MEN    OK    MorNDHtn.IiKR    SrT'T.rTURAI.    SKII.I, 

WITH    lU'.MAN    KIIJUKK 

Height  0/ jar,  loj  in.  ;  wiiitli  o/s/tuulticrs,  8  in. 


Carvintr,    INIodcllino-,   Sculpture 


171 


into  two  distinct  groups.  The  specinieiis  forming  the  first  group 
are  death-masks,  as  becomes  more  and  more  evident  the  more  tlie 
objects  are  studied  ;  the  other  group,  while  of  the  same  general 
form  as  the  first,  the  human  head  being  represented,  has  the  face 
and  features  wrought  upon  it  free-hand,  as  in  sculpturing,  without 
the  aid  of  mould  or  cast. "  '  It  may  be  added  that  the  second  group 
is  far  inferior  to  the  first,  and  is  quite  in  line  with  the  rest  of  the 
remains  of  this  district. 

The  tobacco  pipes  of  the  region  were  lauded  as  perfect  examples 
of  the  sculptor's  art,  but  if  one  gives  them 
critical  examination,  it  is  at  once  plain  that 
they  are  not  out  of  the  Amerind  line,  and, 
what  is  more,  that  as  sj)ecimens  of  sculpture 
they  are  pretty  Ijad,  because  it  is  difficult  to 

tleciile  just 
what  tliey 
represent. 
Ivven  t  h  e 
K  s  k  i  m  o 
give  tlieir 
work  character 
enough  to  dis- 
tinguish it,  yet  the  Moundbuilder  did  much  of  his  carving  so 
poorly  that  there  has  been  frequent  diversity  of  opinion  as  to  what 
it  was  intended  to  depict.  Henshaw  took  up  the  matter,  and  has 
shown  that  the  degree  of  excellence  of  representation  iti  the 
carving  of  the  Moundbuilder  pipes,  so  long  extolled,  has  been 
overrated. 

The  tobacco  pipe,  bearing,  as  it  did,  a  peculiar  relation  to  the 
sacred  paraphernalia  and  ceremonies  of  the  Amerinds,  received 
much  attention  from  them  and  was  frequently  elaborate,  from  the 
Amerind  standpoint,  in  its  details.  The  earliest  form  of  pipe  was 
a  straight  tube  seen  in  Mexican  carvings  and  also  found  in  various 
parts  of  Xorth  America.  In  the  Eastern  United  States  one  is 
found  which  is  designated  as  the  "  Monitor."  I  .suppose  this 
name  came  from  a  resemblance  to  the  famous  first  turret  man-of- 
war,  the  United  States  ship  Monitor.  The  base  of  these  pipes  was 
slighth"  curved  downwards,  the  bowl  rising  from  about  the  centre 
of  the  platform,  on  the  convex  side.     Many  of  these  show  marks 

'  Prehistoric  Art,  p.  477. 


U.S.  liu.  F.tli. 

SroNK    I'IPK    I'ROM    NORTH    TAl^OTINA    MOI'Mi 


V 

A 

>  J 

% 


\ 


I? 

J    n! 


li 


fife  f^ 


;:,'•; 


1  "ji  The  North-Americans  of  Yesterday 


''  ; 


I  !i/  r 


of  steel  tools.'  Squier  and  Davis,  who  published  their  work  in 
1.S48,  discerned  wonderful  artistic  skill  in  the  Moundbuilder  pipes, 
and  they  discovered  an  intimate  acquaintance  between  the  Mound- 
builder  artists  and  far-off  tropical  lairds  and  animals,  probably  be- 
cause in  those  days  it  was  thought  that  an  "Indian  "  was  absolutely 
incapable  of  producing  anything.     Ivspecially  was  great  stress  laid 


SO-CAM-IOJ    Kl.I'.I'lIANl    I>II>E.   IOWA 


U.  S.  Bu.  Eth. 
TOUCAN   OF   SQUIER   AND   DAVIS,  I'OSSIIU.Y   MEANT    TOR   A   YOUNG   EAOI.E 
Only  two  of  the  "elephant"  pipes  ha\e  been   found  and  both  by  the  same  person.     There  is  a 
doubt  as  to  their  genuineness.     Even  if  genuine  they  are  far  from  depicting  the  mastodon 

by  Squier  and  Davis  upon  certain  pipes  said  to  delineate  the  mana- 
tee. Theories  of  origin  and  migration  were  founded  on  this  sup- 
posed knowledge,  and  other  writers  accepting  these  deductions 
founded  yet  other  theories  upon  them  ;  and  they  were  all  wrong, 

'Joseph  D.  McGuire,  "Americau  Aboriginal  Pipes,"  Rep.  Nat.  Mus.y 
1897,  p.  468. 


I    I 


!.' 


Carving,   Modclli^L,^   Sculpture 


173 


in 

!S, 
d- 

le- 

ly 

id 


p 


la- 
ip- 

ms 

ts.. 


The  trouble  seems  to  lie  in  llie  fact  that  the  arclueolojj^ists  of  some 
years  a<;o  not  only  were  not  naturalists,  but  they  were  not  accurate 
and  drew  their  conclusions  from  insuflicient  data.  The  attitude 
of  the  arclueologist  of  to-day  is  exceedingly  cautious,  and  before 
pronouncing  a  pipe  carving  a  manatee,  or  an>'  other  animal,  he 
would  surely  institute  cautious  aud  careful  comparisons.  This 
Messrs.  .Squier  aud 


Da\'is  seem  not  to 
have  done,  nor  did 
any  of  their  fol- 
lowers or  success- 
ors, being  content, 
as  Henshaw  points 
out,  to  accept 
Squier  and  Davis's 
statement  as  abso- 
lute. Henshaw  de- 
molishes their 
claims  and  shows 
that  no  manatee  is 
represented  and 
that  all  the  pipe 
carvings  are  of 
birds  and  animals 
that  had  their 
range  in  the  coun- 
try of  the  Mound- 
builders  or  not  far 
from  its  borders. 
What  they  called  a  toucan  he  identifies  as  a  crow,  or  raven, 
and  in  this  deci.sion  several  other  ornithologists  fully  agree. 
The  nasal  features  are  plainly  shown,  and  the  "  general  contour 
of  the  bill  is  truly  corvine."  See  figure  page  161.  Thus  is  this 
supposed  tropical  acquaintance  easily  disposed  of  and  the  crow, 
certain!}'  not  a  rare  bird  in  that  locality,  substituted.  A  turkey 
buzzard  is  shown  to  be  a  hawk,  and  other  foreign  types  claimed  by 
Squier  and  Davis  are  disproved  with  ease.  Out  of  forty-five  carvings 
on  pipes  figured  by  them  only  five, by  Henshaw' s  tests,  are  correctly 
named.  Some  carvings,  which  they  were  unable  to  identify,  Hen- 
shaw places  without  an}-  effort.     As  for  the  so-called  manatees,  he 


Tiai'OD  vA>i;,  ciiiKiQiy.     ',.     i.kgs  modelled 

TO    LMITATK    EI    II 


!  i 


1» 


■I 


M 


if' 

f}   \l 


1 


il  ! 

! 

J  : 


174 


The   Nortli-Aincricans  of  VcstLTclay 


believes  they  were  ititendcd  for  otter.  The  manatee  is  an  earless 
aiiiiiial  with  many  peculiar  features  which  do  not  appear  in  the 
Moundhuilder  carviny;s,  while  ears  do  appear.  This  is  what  I 
mean  by  not  K'^'i"K  "character"  to  carvings.  It  is  a  matter, 
largely,  of  perception.  The  ICskimo  appears  to  have  this  per- 
ception developed  to  a  considerable  degree,  and  when  he  ileline- 
ates  an  animal  he  knows  he  marks  .strongly  its  peculiar  features, 
whatever  else  he  may  do.  'iMie  element  of  imagination  also  comes 
in,  for  Amerinds  often  produce  drawings  or  carvings  of  animals 
they  think  they  have  seen,  or  as  they  appeared  to  them  in  a  sudden 
and  fleeting  glimpse,  or  vision. 

It  was  a  lack  of  ability  to  reproduce  accurately  the  lines  and 
character  of  (i/zv  object  which  caused  some  of  the  Moundhuilder 
pipes  intended  to  represent  the  connnon  otter  to  look  like  .some- 
thing else.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  these  Moundhuilder  pipe  carv- 
ings, about  which  so  much  that  is  unwarranted  has  been  written, 
are  not  .sui)erior  to  the  carvings  of  the  Haidas,  or  other  stocks, 
and  indeed,  if  anything,  are  not  equal  lo  them.  They  certainly 
do  not  compare  for  a  nioment  with  mo.st  of  the  work  of  the  Mexi- 
can tribes.  A  further  important  conclu.sion  of  Hen.shaw's  is  that 
"  there  is  no  reason  for  believing  that  the  ma.sks  and  sculptures 
of  human  faces  are  more  correct  likenesses  than  are  the  animal 
carvings,"  '  which  is  exactly  in  accord  with  my  own  opinion,  not 
oidy  as  concerns  the  work  of  the  Moundbuilders,  but  of  every 
other  Amerind  tribe.  They  were  not  sculptors  of  a  kind  that 
could  reproduce  a  likeness  to  an  individual.  Their  work  was 
always  .i.'vv/^vvi'/.-  they  seldom  drew  or  paintedy)vw  ///r  object,  as  an 
artist  or  sculptor  of  our  race  does,  but  they  accomplished  their  re- 
sult by  memory,  imagination,  and  "  rule  of  thumb."  The  sur- 
]irise  of  the  Europeans  at  finding  anything  at  all  in  the  art  line, 
coupled  with  a  wide  ignorance  on  art  matters,  has  awarded  all 
the  Amerind  carvings  and  sculptures,  as  is  well  illustrated  in 
the  Moundhuilder  case,  a  false  degree  of  excellence.  The  Ame- 
rinds of  the  Mississippi  valley  probably  also  carved  wood,  but 
their  work  in  this  material  has,  of  course,  long  ago  decayed. 
They  worked  other  things,  like  shell,  and  .some  of  the  shell  carv- 
ings are  strikingly  like  Aztec  drawings.  In  this  shellwork  there 
are  a  great  many  discs  and  gorgets,  engraved  with  figures  of 
spiders,  rattlesnakes,  birds,  geometrical  designs,  and  representa- 
'  II.  W.  Heushaw,  "Auinial  (ii\x\'\\\^s,''  Second  Ann.  Rept.  Bu.  Eth.^  p.  i66. 


,i  !  ' 


I 


(  :  M 


1 


Carvini^,    Modclliiit^^   SciiljUiirr 


/:> 


tiotis  of  tlie  liunmJi  rij::ure.  There  are  also  rude  shell  masks  of  the 
liiunau  face,  but  these  are  priinitivL*  iu  the  extreme.  It  must  he 
borne  in  mind  tint  this  region  was  occupied  for  lonj^  aj;es,  and  />]■ 
many  difftirnt  trihs,  so  that  the  work  found  is  prol)ably  from 
different  sources,  thouj^h  all  Amerind.    A  cla.ss  of  singularly  .shaped 


U.  S.  Bu.  Eth 


SHKI.T.    (;<)Ki;KT,     MIS^oCKI.       .\Clt\I.    SI/K. 


stones  is  found  in  the  Missi.ssippi  valley  and  northward,  mainly 
noith  of  the  Ohio,  to  which  the  name  "  bird-stones  "  lias  been  :i])- 
plied  because  of  their  resemblance  to  avian  forms.  No  satisfac- 
tory explanation  of  their  use  has  been  advanced.' 

'Warren  K.  Moorehead,  The  Bird-Stone  (rV'r^///o;//<j'/ (pamphlet). 


n 


fi 


i  Mi 


:'^ 


; 


It 


I    < 


\ 


i'h  \\ 


\ 


\ 


•\'i 
i/.i 


I 


i 

■  s 


176 


'I'h(.'   North-Anu.'ricans  of  Ni-strrda)' 


A  iminhcr  ot"  stoiic  statues  of  the  liunKiii  fij^ain.-  luux-  l)eL'n  un- 
earthed I'ruiM  (ieorjfja  to  Tennessee,  varying'  in  hei^lit  from  three 
or  lour  inches  to  something  over  twenty.  The>-  are  all  of  the 
crudest  description,  and  so  far  as  any  resenil)lance  to  the  t>pe  of 
man  who  made  them  is  concerned  are  absolutely  valueless.  They 
are  undoul)tedl>-  lunnan  forms,  that  is  all  ;  not  another  character- 
istic, except  sex,  indicated  by  l)reasts, 
is  presented.  They  are  mostly  in  a  s<inat- 
ting  posture  and  on  one  or  two  there 
seems  to  be  a  su.ugestion  of  the  hair 
dressed  behind.  Ivflij^y  bottles  of  earth- 
enware from  Tennessee  are  similarly 
crude  and  primitive.  There  is  little, 
therefore,  in  the  whole  Mississipjn  valley 
or  on  the  Atlantic  coast,  in  the  line  of 
carvinj^  or  sculpture,  that  could  not 
have  been  executed    bv    Amerinds  that 


u.  s.  r,u.  Kt 


r.n<i)-sn.\rK.i)  EARTfn-.N  kowi.,  akkansas. 


li 


have  l^een  known  to  our  race,  many  of  them  livinj^  in  the  same 
localities  where  the  art  remains  have  been  found.  The  .superla- 
tive rank  awarded  Moundbuilder  art  is  inuvarranted. 

Directing  our  attention  now  to  still  another  region,  we  find  in 
the  vSouth-west  a  vast  deal  that  is  absorbingly  intere.sting.  For- 
tunately the  people  were,  many  of  them,  still  there  when  the  first 
vSpaniards  came  into  the  country  in  1540,  so  that  we  have  data  to 
prevent  the  attributing  the  works  found  there  to  some  mysterious 
race.  It  has  been  attempted  in  the  case  of  the  "  Cliff-dwellers," 
but  the  investigations  of  competent  ethnologists  have  effectually 


I  -I- 


Carvi^J^^    Modfllitii^,   Sculpture 


1/7 


J 


/ 


siiUlcil  lliMl  niiiUcr,  aiul  checked  tliu  rom.Mitic  tciulcucy  except  in 
the  case  of  a  few  who  will  not  leani.  The  ethnographic  condition 
of  the  .South-west  since  we  have  known  it  probably  represents  also 
what  prevailed  in  the  NIissi>sip])i  ix«;ion,  that  is,  n  uuwbcr  of 
dijfinnf  sloi/cs  ixislin^^  in  dilpioit  stances  0/  <i(ltnrt\  distributed  in 
patches,  not  uniformly. 


-ft  _  .      |lilMl']ILP"<Jl 


U.S.  Hu.Eth. 


SHKI.l.    MASK,     \|K(;iMA.        J^ 


All  of  them  pitched  their  camps  or  built  their  houses  as  expe- 
dierjoy  dictated,  and  when  cause  arose  to  render  them  dissatisfied 
with  their  site,  whether  cliff-house,  village,  or  camp,  they  moved 
to  a  more  desirable  place,  leaving  behind  what  they  could  not 
easily  carry,  as  well  as  their  houses.  Thus  in  the  course  of  a  long 
time  the  area  presented  the  appearance  from  the  uumerous  remains 


!'  ■; 

ay 


1  : 


i    !■    M 


mi 


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!'.ilin" 


13 


■H 


»;  1: 


178  The  North-Americans  of  Yesterday 

of  having  a  larger  population  than  was  really  the  case  ;  though  I 
may  add  that  1  believe  the  population  was  at  one  time  soniLnvliat 
greater  than  has  usually  been  admitted  by  the  best  ethnologists. 
These  various  stocks  carried  on  their  daily  avocations,  and  when 
the  results  were  in  some  indestructible  material,  many  of  them  were 
preserved  to  us,  which,  taken  in  connection  with  the  productions 
of  the  modern  tribes,  give  an  excellent  and  correct  impression  of 
the  life  and  occupations  of  the  inhabitants  extending  far  back  into 
the  past. 


Terracotta  .\ciod  'I'erra  cott.i 

MOKI   sm.rTURAl,   SKII.I.   WITH   THE    IHIMAN    FICTTRK 

The  Shoshonean  is  one  of  the  stocks  still  extant  in  that  and 
more  northerly  regions,  and  spreads  far  south  to  the  lakes  of 
Mexico.  It  exists  to-day  in  several  stages,  the  Mexican  or  Na- 
huatl.  the  Moki  or  Hopi,  and  the  numerous  bands  of  Utes.'  Other 
stocks  probably  had  equal  variation  in  culture  within  their  ranks, 
this  variation  being  sometimes  due  to  the  absorption,  as  in  the 

'  The  Pai  Utes  make  rude  clay  aud  wood  doUs,  but  nothing  larger,  and 
no  pottery. 


|l 


11 


^'-f-    '^ 


of 


ler 


nd 


Carving,  Modelling,   Scul[)ture 


179 


l^Q 


I\ 


WW.  AI. OSAKA  (moKi) 

After  ilrawiiin  by  A.  M. 
Stephen 


case  of  the  Navajos,  of  a  more  cultured  tril)e.     Many  of  these 

tribes  did  no  carving  whatever,  and  the  region  of  our  South-west  is 
poor  in  this  sort  of  remains.  The  Puehh)s,  wliile 
possessing  other  artistic  talents  of  a  high  order, 
do  not  seem  to  have  done  much  in  the  Hue  of 
carving.  They  execute  the  ordinary  fetiches 
with  little  or  no  shape,  and  they  also  protluce  a 
kind  of  small  doll  for  the  children  and  some  that 
are  used  in  ceremonies,  figure  page  17S,  hut  all 
these,  and  all  the  masks  in  ceremonies,  are  fearful 
things  to  look  upon,  bearing  little  or  no  resem- 
blance to  anything  human  ;  shnpeless,  botched  up 
masses  of  hideousness,  usually  not  carved  or  mod- 
elled, but  built  up  out  of  various  slutTs.  Some 
of  them  model  effigies  in  earthenware,  but  these 
attempts  do  not  amount  to  much.      I  have  never 

seen  any  wood  carving,  from  this  region,  worth  mentioning.     A. 

M.  vStephen  made  a  sketch  of  two  figures  in  wood  with  small  knots 

or  horns  called  the  Alosaka,  which  I  copied,  but  they  are  primi- 
tive   to   the    last    degree. 

These  figures  were  al)out 

four  feet   high,  and  were 

of  Cottonwood,  apparently 

very  old.     Figures  above. 

They  were  discovered  by 

accident    in    a   cave    near 

the  ruins  of  Awatuwi  and 

removed.     When  the  lo.ss 

v;as  learned  by  the  Moki 

ihey  requested   the  return 

of  the  images,  which  was 

granted,    and    thev'    have 

not    been   seen    since,  nor 

does  anyone  outside  of  the 

custodians,  or  at  least  no 

white    man,    know  where 

they    are.       Around    the 

Moki  towns  I  saw  not  a 

si.igle  attempt  at  rock  carving,  nor  do  I  remember  in  exten- 
sive journeys   over  the  South-western  region  ever   seeing   any 


U.  S.  i5ii.  F.th.  Side 

snirTrRAi.  art  of  rHnu(.)i'i 

^'r.lKmenta^y  figure  in  Rrey  basaltic  rock.     H 


f 

t 

1i. 


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1 80 


The   North-Americans  of  Yesterday 


relief  carving  whatever.  Rock  scratchings,  erroneousl}'  termed 
"  etchings"  bj'  many  writers  on  these  subjects,  I  have  seen  in 
great  abundance,  but  not  an  attempt  at  sculpture  worth  noticing. 
There  maj-,  however,  in  some  of  the  villages,  be  carvings 
nevertheless.     Governor  Prince  found  at  a  ruin  near  Cochiti  a 


r.  S.  Ru.  Eth 


SUF.I.l,    C.OKC.KT,     IKNNKSSKK.       -\ 

Aiipareiuly  a  human  figure,  with  face  in  profile  to  l:ie  left  of  the  circle  near  the  top.     The  iinse  is 

cut  .iway  by  a  perforation 

number  of  rudely  formed  stone  figures  of  human  shape.  Nearbj' 
there  are  two  panthers  carved  life  size  in  the  tufa  which  forms 
the  surface  rock  of  the  locality.  They  "  lie  side  by  .side,"  .says 
Bandelier,  "  representing  the  animals  as  crouching  with  tails  ex- 
tended, and  their  heads  pointing  to  the  east."  '  Their  length  is 
six  feet,  one  third  of  this  being  tail.  The  height  is  two  feet  and 
'  A.  F.  Baudelier,  Final  Report,  p.  152. 


ms. 


Carvino-,   Modellino-,   Sculpture 


i8i 


the  breadth  across  the  shoulders  fourteen  inches,  and  across  the 
rump  seventeen  inches.  They  are  about  twenty-two  inches  apart. 
Around  them  is  an  irregular  pentagonal  enclosure,  "  made  of  large 
blocks,  flags,  and  slabs  of  volcanic  rock,  some  of  which  are  set  in 
the  ground  like  posts,  while  the  majority  are  piled  on  each  other 
so  as  to  connect  the  upright  pillars.  .  .  .  Wh'tn  I  last  saw 
the  monument  it  looked  like  a  diminutive  and  dilapidated  Stone- 
henge."  '  Another  pair  of  similar  panthers  occurs  at  not  a  great 
distance  off  at  a  place  now  called  the  Potirro  dc  /os  /dolos.  The 
size  is  about  the  same  as  the  others.  "  One  of  them  is  completely 
destroyed  by  treasure  hunters,  who  loosened  both  from  the  rock 
bj'  a  blast  of  powder,  and  then  heaved  the  ponderous  blocks  cut 
by  means  of  crowbars.  After  breaking  one  of  the  figures  to  pieces 
they  satisfied  themselves  that  nothing  was  buried  underneath. 
.  .  .  The  imperfections  of  the  sculpture  rre  very  apparent  ; 
were  it  not  for  the  statements  of  the  Indians  who  posinvely  assort 
that  the  intention  of  the  makers  was  to  represent  a  puma,  it  would 
be  considered  to  be  a  gigantic  lizard."  ° 

The  metatesor  mealing  stones,  abundant  in  modern  and  ancient 
villages,  and  which  in  the  Far  South  are  elaboratel}^  carved  often- 
times, are,  in  the  South-west,  so  far  as  I  have  observed  in  the  field 
and  in  reports  of  investigators,  never  decorated  in  the  faintest  de- 
gree. Articles,  also,  of  various  kinds  that  among  the  Haidas  or 
Tlinkits  would  be  covered  with  carving,  have  here  not  a  vestige  of 
it.  Nor  is  there  any  carving  about  the  house  timbers  or  the 
.stones  that  enter  into  the  wall  construction,  places  where  tlie 
Aztecs,  and  especially  the  Maj'as,  lavished  their  skill.  The  Mokis 
make  little  clay  images  which  they  fire  for  the  children,  but  they 
are  without  merit.  Xor  do  the  Navajo,  the  Pima,  the  Apache, 
Yuma,  or  any  of  the  other  stocks  attempt  anything  in  the  direc- 
tion of  carving,  so  that  it  .seems  safe  to  saj'  that  the  South-west 
has  not  produced  any  carving  worthy  of  note,  either  in  modern  or 
ancient  times.  The  ruins  .so  far  as  known  are  as  barren  of  carved 
articles  as  the  modern  occupied  houses. 

Proceeding  .southward,  however,  when  we  approach  the  vicinity 
of  the  City  of  Mexico,  examples  of  carving  appear,  and  it  is 
quickly  evident  that  the  Aztecs  gave  great  attention  to  this  form 
of  art.  One  of  the  most  remarkable  .specimens  is  the  so-called 
Calendar  vStone  dug  up  under  tlie  present  city,  and  now  in  the 

'A.  F.  Batulelier,  Final  Report,  p.  153.  '^  Ibid,  ]>.  161. 


I" 


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Si 


i<S2  The    Nf)rth-AnK.'ricans  of  Yesterday 

Mexican  National  Museum.  It  has  been  called  a  sacrificial  stone, 
but  Bandelier  thinks  it  may  have  served  rather  as  the  base  for  an- 
other stone,  holding  the  rope  of  a  captive  doomed  to  the  "  gladi- 
atorial "  sacrifice.  For  my  part  I  incline  to  the  opinion  that  it  is 
an  astronomical  affair.     The  date  carved  on  the  top  is  the  i.sth 


Tlir,    A/.ri'.C    "  (AI.K.M)  AK  "    SIONK 
I'ri'iu  I l^uulclicr's  ./;•.// (/vi/cc/'ivi/  J'oiii',  piiblishcd  liy  the  ArcluuoUigical  Iiistitiitu  uf  America 

Acatl  or  a.d.  1479  of  our  time,  according  to  the  accepted  calcula- 
tions. In  the  centre  is  a  head,  supposed  to  represent  the  sun, 
and  around  it  are  twenty  figures,  .standing  for  the  twenty  days  of 
the  Mexican  month.  Then  come  eight  divisions  by  what  appear 
to  be  arrow-heads,  four  being  extended  farther  toward  the  centre 
than  the  others  and  also  curled  up  at  the  ends  or  flukes,  and  one 
of  these  four  ending  in  an  elaborate  sort  of  l)OW-knot  ornament 
which  covers  a  wide  space  at  what  is  now  the  lower  edge  as  it 
stands.  Kach  of  the  eight  divisions  is  again  divided  by  a  kind  of 
crown  which  is  smaller  than  the  smaller  arrow-heads,  and  then 


V  : 


li    M 


Carving,   Modelling-,   Sculpture 


j8 


I 


i- 
n, 
of 
ar 
re 
lie 
nt 
it 
of 
en 


there  is  a  still  further  subdivision  made  by  a  dot,  on  a  line  with 
the  base  of  the  crown.  This  gives  thirty-two  points,  or  exactly 
the  luimber  of  points  on  our  mariner's  compass  card,  so  that  this 
carving  can  be  "  boxed  "  as  any  compass  card  can  be.  The  X., 
Iv.,  and  \V.,  are  more  prominent  than  any  other  points  but  the 
vS.,  which  has  the  decoration  referred  to.  Then  come  the  N.IC, 
vS.I-:..  S.W.,  and  X.W., 
with  each  set  of  inter- 
mediate points  diminish- 
ing in  importance.'  It 
looks  as  if  our  ancient 
Aztecs  had  found  a  mari- 
ner's compass  washed 
ashore  and  perpetuated  it 
by  thus  carving  it  with 
mxlhological  significance."' 
vStranger  things  than  this 
have  occurred  amontr 
Amerinds,  liut  I  prefer 
to  believe  that  the  A/tec 
astronomer  worked  out 
the  ])oints  of  the  compass 
for  himself,  for  these  direc- 
tions exist  of  course  in 
every  land  independent  of 
the  compass,  and  the  mo- 
ment the  Amerind  began 
to  work  in  astronomy  he 
was  forced  to  recognise  the  thirty-two  natural  directions  that  were 
open  to  him.  No  doubt  the  Mayan  and  Mexican  observatories  were 
somewhat  similar  to  that  of  the  vShali  Jalian  at  Jeypore  in  India, 
where  circular  .stones  of  different  sizes  formed  a  part  of  the  observ- 
ing apparatus.  The  Mayan  and  Mexican  astronomical  knowledge 
was  probably  equal  to  any  extant  in  the  fourteenth  century. 

'  A  jjainted  design,  similar  to  that  of  the  "  Calendar  Stone,"  was  found 
on  one  of  the  inside  walls  at  JNIitla.  See  pi.  xxv.,  I'ij,'.  i,  HandelierV 
.lir/icrohi^ical  Tour. 

■  .\  compass  card  has  five  concentric  circles,  and  the  Calendar  Stone 
appears  to  have  the  .same  number.  The  compass  was  known  in  Ivuropc  in 
the  twelfth  century,  in  China  earlier. 


A/ Tl.r    sil    l.M  IKK,     I  III.    IMih>     I  Kl^  I  I. 

rrniii  l!:iiuU-lii-r's  A  1 1  hi/c/i'i;/,  n/  'lo..r,  i.ulili!iln.-(.l  by 
llic  .•\rLlwi;nliij;ic.il  lii.stiliiti;  of  America 


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184 


The  North-Ami.'ricans  of   \'csUM\lav 


Another  type  of  Mexican  carving  is  seen  in  the  statue  of  Teo- 
yaonii(iui,  the  god  of  war  and  death,  of  which  the  two  faces  are 
different.  Handelier  believes  tliis  to  l)e  a  statue  of  the  war-god 
Hnitzilopochth. 

Another  remarkable  statue  given  mention  by  Bandelier  is  the 
"  Indio  Triste."  This  is  a  squatting  figure  of  an  Amerind  exe- 
cuted with  more  simplicitj'  than  is  usual  with  Amerind  work  in 
this  region.  Bandelier  considers  it  a  torch-beaier,  a  supposition 
borne  out  by  evidence  he  advances,  and  also  by  the  arrangement 
of  the  hands  and  arms,  which  are  brought  out  forward  of  the 
chest  as  if  clasping  something  in  the  empty  .space  between  the 
fingers.  This  statue  is  forty  inches  high  and  two  feet  wide.  A 
comparatively'  small  tuimber  of  Aztec  sculptures  have  been  found. 
Almost  all  were  destroyed  or  buried  by  the  /cal  of  the  early  ]-)riests. 
Under  the  City  of  Mexico  and  in  other  places  there  are  prol)abIy 
many  lying  intact,  and  some  daj-  they  may  come  to  the  light. 
"  The  art  of  .sculpture  in  aboriginal  Mexico,"  says  liandelier, 
"  while  considerably  above  that  of  the  Northern  Village-Indians, 
is  still  not  superior  to  the  remarkable  carvings  on  ivory  and  wood 
of  the  tril)es  of  the  North- west  Coast  and  often  bears  a  marked 
reseml)lance  to  them."  ' 

Proceeding  on  .southward,  the  next  great  group  of  carvings  is 
that  ascribed  to  the  Mayas,  and  extending,  in  a  general  waj',  from 
the  Isthnuis  of  Tehuantepec  to  the  borders  of  Honduras  and  .some- 
what beyond.  The  people  formerly  occupying  this  area  were 
extremely  active  in  the  line  of  carving,  and  there  are  preserved  to 
us  tablets,  figures  in  bass-relief,  .statues,  monoliths,  and  other 
stone-  and  woodwork  that,  taken  together,  easily  bring  this  people 
in  the  very  front  place  among  Amerind  artists.  Tlieir  buildings 
were  most  elaborately  ornamented  with  carving  in  stone,  or  wood, 
and  with  modelling  in  stucco,  and  there  were  many  tablets  bear- 
ing carved  in.scriptions.  One  of  the  most  famous  of  these  tablets 
adorned  a  beautiful  building  called  in  modern  times  "  The  Temple 
of  the  Cross."  ''     It  stands  at  Palenque.     The  tablet  was  affixed 

'  A.  F.  Bandelier,  Report  of  an  Air/urolo^q^ical  Tour  in  Mexico,  p.  7S. 

'^  Two  structures  at  Palenque  are  so  called  on  account  of  the  tablets  iu 
them  bearinjj;  emblems  that  reseml)le  a  cross.  In  that  designated  by 
Stephen  as  No.  2,  bj*  Charnay  later  as  No.  i,  and  by  H.  H.  Bancroft  as 
No.  4,  the  cross  form  is  the  more  pronounced,  and  it  is  the  one  usually 
referred  to  hy  the  above  title. 


4 


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in 
by 
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ly 


iiii 


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180 


The   Xorth-Americans  of  YcsU-rthi) 


Y 


to  tlie  rear  wall  of  an  inm.r  chamber,  ttrnietl  by  Kuropeans  Ihc 
"  Adoratotio, "  and  was  in  three  sections,  the  total  dimensions  of 
which  were  ten  feet  eight  inches  wide,  l^y  six  feet  fonr  inches 
high.  One  section  of  this  tablet  remained  in  place  at  the  time  of 
Charnay's  last  visit,  one  was  in  Las  Play;is,  and  the  other,  the 
third,  is  in  the  Smithsonian  Institntion.  At  each  extreme  end  of 
the  whole  composition  was  a  mass  of  the  calculiform  writing;  next 


Peabodv  Museum 


'»*; 


"ai.tak"  IN"  iRONr  ni-  stki.a  n,  copan 


came  two  figures  separated  by  a  peculiar  design  in  the  centre, 
which  somewhat  resembles  a  cross,  and  it  was  this  design  that 
gave  the  name  to  the  tablet.  While  the  execution  is  remarkable 
it  is  nevertheless  primitive,  and  similar  to  other  Amerind  art  in 
f|uality  and  conception.  It  is  a  high  development  of  Amerindian 
sculptural  ideas.  Another  similar  tablet  exists  in  the  so-called 
"  Temple  of  the  Sun."  A  cast  of  this  was  made  by  Charnay  and 
a  photograph  from  this  cast  is  given  in  figure  on  page  1S5.' 

At  Copan  twenty-three  stelse,  or  monolithic  monuments,  elab- 
orately carved  with  human  figures  and  hieroglyphs,  have  been 
''ound.     I'^ach  had  in  front  a  sculptured  block  designated  as  an 

'  For  the  t-xtt-rior  of  the  Tein])k'  of  tlic  Sun,  see  Frontispiece. 


Ml 


l-"ea)"Mly  Museum 

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1  lu:    Xorth-Aiiu-ricans  i)i   \'(;st(.'rclay 


altar.  Their  average  hcij^ht  is  twelve  feet,  and  their  breadth  and 
their  thickness  each  aliout  three  feet.  vStelce  and  so  called  idols 
have  been  exhumed  around  I/ike  Xicaraj^ua,  but  all  remains 
^row  less  important  towards  the  south  except  in  Chiricjui,  as  well 
as  towards  the  north.  Indeed,  here  in  Yucatan  seems  to  have 
sprung  the  living  fountain  that  watered  all  the  de.solation  of  the 
Western  world. 

The  .stekc  at  Copan  are  some  of  the  most  artistic  and  altogether 
remarkable  sculptures  found  on  the  continent.  They  are  highly 
decorative,  and  the  execution  of  the  intricate  designs  with  the 
poor  stone  tools  at  their  command  is  extraordinary.  But  all  the 
productions  of  the  Mayas  pass  easily  beyond  those  of  any  other 
stock  on  this  continent.     Some  of  the  conventionalised   animal 


U.  S.  Bu.  F.th. 


ITMA-SHAPKn    STOOI,    OF    r.RF.V    AXPESITF.,    (IIIRIQri. 


'4: 


heads  used  as  gargoyles  are  exceedingly  well  done  and  .so  also  are 
several  works  called  ".singing-girls"  (see  figures  pages  19  and 
79).  There  are  no  geometric  patterns  at  Copan,  and  the  de- 
signs and  execution  are  of  a  high  order,  yet  at  the  same  time 
thoroughly  Amerindian.  The  rattlesnake  enters  into  many  of 
the  designs  and  is  represented  by  itself  frequently.  It  was 
an  animal  of  great  importance  to  all  Amerinds  from  the  thirty- 
eighth  parallel  down.  Charnay  gives  an  illustration  of  what 
he  calls  votive  stones,  that  are  apparently  the  representation 
of  the  rattle  of  the  revered  reptile.  The  segments  are  clearly 
indicated    and    altogether    the   design    seems   to   me   unmistak- 


'■i      •' 


Carxini;-,    Modelling,    Sculpture 


I  Scj 


able.     The    region    of   the   South-west   and    Mexico  is  also   the 
richest  in  species  of  any  part  of  America,  no  less  than  "  ei^lu  out 


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Pe.iliody  Mtiseiim 

IIKAI)    SCULPTrRKn    I\    STONK,   rirriTrNM-.S    (11'    lAliNA,   VrcAIAN 

of  a  total  of  seventeen  species  occurring  at  or  near  the  boundary 
between    the  United   States  and   the   Mexican    Republic."      In 


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190  riic   Xorth-AniLTicans  of  Yesterday 

southern  Arizona  seven  difierent  species  are  found.  "  Their  cen- 
tre of  distribution  appears  to  he  the  tahlehind  of  Mexico  with  its 
extension  northward  into  the  south-western  United  vStates."  ' 

( )ne  of  the  "  Temples  of  the  Cross  "  at  Palenciue  is  Hanked  at 
the  entrance  by  two  well-constructed  fij^aires,  one  on  either  side, 
supposed  to  represent  the  Mayan  war  and  rain  gods.''  Thuse  fij;- 
ures  are  in  low  relief,  covered  with  the  customary  Amerind  trap- 
pings and  head-dresses  of  this  region.  On  each  tablet  there  rire 
some  calculiform  characters.  Many  of  the  ruined  l)uildings  still 
exhibit  a  wealth  of  ornamentation  either  carved  in  stone,  modelled 
in  stucco,  or  constructed  out  of  rubble  and  stucco.  vSome  of  the 
carvings,  notably  certain  heads  at  Uxmal,  have  formed  the  basis 
for  nuich  discussion.  The  latter  were  supposed  by  Waldeck  to  be 
repre.sentations  of  elephants'  trunks,  but  there  is  no  foundation  for 
this  supjiosition.  They  more  likely  represent  ceremonial  masks 
with  long  noses,  vSomething  similar,  though  lacking  the  cur\e, 
is  seen  in  some  of  the  remarkable  funeral  urns  found  in  the 
Zapotecan  tombs. 

The  statue  of  Chac-Mool,  found  at  Chichen  Itza  by  Le  IMon- 
geon,  is  an  example  of  what  was  accomplishetl  when  the  figure 
was  attempted  without  any  of  the  accessories  of  masks,  draperies, 
etc.''  It  is  a  large  reclining  figure,  crude  and  primitive.  vSome 
of  the  work  at  other  places  is  more  synunetrical,  as,  for  instance, 
the  Lacandon  idol  described  by  Charnay.  "  This  idol  is  very 
l)eautiful  and  unique  of  its  kind,  for  nothing  like  it  has  bt-en 
found  either  in  Tabasco  or  Yucatan.  It  represents  a  figure  sitting 
cross-legged,  the  hands  resting  on  the  knees  .  .  .  the  face 
now  mutilated  is  crowned  by  an  enormous  head-dress  of  a  peculiar 
style,  presenting  a  fantastic  head  with  a  diadem  and  medallions, 
topped  by  huge  feathers,  like  those  on  the  columns  at  Tula  and 
Chichen-Itza."  *  This  idol  was  found  at  Menche,  where  there  is 
a  lot  of  excellent  work  in  the  liue  of  carving,  some  of  the  wooden 
lintels  being  particularly  interesting.     It  is  impossible  in  a  brief 

'  Leonhard  Stejneger,  "  PoisoiK/u  ^  Snakes  of  North  America,"  /^e/>.  ('.  S. 
Museum,  :893,  p.  421. 

'^  Rdvvard  vS.  Hokltii,  "Studies  in  Central  American  Picture-Writinii," 
First  Auu.  kept.  Eu.  Eth.,  p.  229. 

■'•  Charnay  found  at  Palenque  that  some  of  the  figures  were  modelled 
first  nude  and  draperies  applied  afterwards,  the  latter  separating  from  the 
figure  itself. 

■•Desird  Charnay,  Ancient  Cities  0/ the  Nezv  World. 


Car\iii}4',    Mock'lliiiL;,    Sculpture; 


iQi 


•^.^ 


\'>-^^^i^ 


chapter  to  convey  more  than  a  slij;ht  impression  of  all  this  ehilx)- 
ratecar\-in}4.  Tlie  reader  who  desires  to  olitain  a  full  comprehen- 
sion of  the  work  should  stmly  Maudsley's  text  and  illustrations  in 
the  /iio/oi^iti  ('(iitmii  .liiii  i  itaiia. 

Where  motlellinj;  was  accomplished  by  the  huildinij-np  process 
with  stones  and  mortar  the  results  were  sometimes  j^iKatilic. 
Stephens  found  an  eriormous  head  made  in  this  way  at  I/.amal  at 
the  base  of  the  luilace  of  linnpiclok.  He  descril)ed  it.  as  being 
seven  feet  ei^lit  inches  high.  "The  features,"  he  says,  "  were 
first  rudely  formed  by  small  rough  stones,  rix.d  in  the  side  of  the 
mound  by  means  of  mortar,  and 
afterwards  perfected  with  stucco  so 
hard  that  it  has  resisted  the  action 
of  air  and  water  for  centuries." 
The  stone  composing  th'.-  chin 
alone  measures  one  foot  and  si.K 
inches.  The  face  liad  an  ex 
tremely  large  mustache.  This  sin- 
gular specimen  of  the  \'ucatan 
Amerinds'  modelling  skill  has,  since 
the  \isit  of  vStephens,  completely 
disappeared.  At  the  same  place  is 
another,  however,  still  intact. 

This  one  is  thirteen  feet  high 
and  is  constructed  in  the  same  man- 
ner as  the  one  that  is  gone. 

Everywhere  throughout  Yuca- 
tan and  the  contiguous  region  the 
architecture  is  overloaded  with  orna- 
mentation which  many  large  volumes  would  barely  be  sufficient 
to  describe.  In  Nicaragua,  as  well  as  in  Honduras,  there  are 
found  many  carvings  and  sculptures,  .statues,  stelce.  etc.,  but  they 
are  rarely  equal  to  those  found  in  the  Maya  ruins.  It  must  be 
said,  however,  that  the  exann'nation  of  these  states  has  been  even 
less  thorough  than  that  of  the  Maya  region.  Tribes  of  Nahuatl 
stock  built  and  laboured  in  the  country  below  the  Maya,  atid  in 
Costa  Rica  there  are  indications  that  the  remains  belong  to 
Amerinds  who  differed  from  both  Maya  and  Nahuatl. 

Some  of  the  supposed  metates  or  mealing  stones  found  in  Nic- 
aragua are  carved   with  legs   and   artistically  decorated.      One 


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192  The  North- Americans  of  Yesterday 

figured  by  Squier  is  a  particularly  beautiful  specimeu.  It  is  a  thin 
curved  slab,  concave  side  up,  and  has  four  le<^s.  One  end  pro- 
jects considerably  beyond  the  legs,  apparently  forming  the  head 
or  end  where  the  operator  sat  or  kneeled,  and  is  carved  in  a  wide 
band  all  the  way  across.  In  Cliiriqui  there  are  similar  stones. 
Another  class  of  carved  remains  found  in  Chiriqui  is  apparently  a 
sort  of  metate,  but  it  differs  from  the  latter  in  being  round,  and 
Holmes  designates  them  as  stools,  for  want  of  a  more  exact  term.' 
Some  wooden  stools  have  recently  been  obtained  in  Central  Amer- 
ica which  are  so  nearly  like  the  affair  described  by  Squier  as  a 


U.  S.  Bu.  Eth. 

STOOT.    OK    C.HKY    HASAI.T,    CHIRIQUI.       j/^ 

metate,  that  it  is  probable  the  latter  was  also  a  stool.  The  figure 
on  page  188  illustrates  this  class.  They  have  a  depressed  upper 
surface  and  are  carved  ba.salt  in  one  piece.  An  example  of  the 
round  is  given  above.  To  carve  an  object  like  this  from  .solid 
basalt  must  have  been  a  work  of  great  duration.  It  is  in  their 
metal-  and  claywork,  however,  that  the  Chiriqui  Amerinds  spe 
cially  excelled. 

All  works  are  dominated  by  the  customs  and  religious  ideas  of 
the  Amerind  race,  which  were  practically  the  same  everywhere  in 

'  "Ancieut  Art  of  the  Province  of  Chiriqui,"  Si.v'h  Ann.  Rept.  BU' 
Eth.,  p.  27. 


\y.     T<      i< 


Carving,   Modelling,   Sculpture 


193 


different  stages  of  development.  Nowhere  do  we  find  a  touch  of 
idealism,  which  is  such  a  marked  characteristic  of  the  work  of  the 
European  race.  The  highest  of  it  marks  a  development  in  art 
below  the  Egyptian.  As  in  picture-writing  we  trace  the  growth 
of  letters,  so  by  the  aid  of  the  Amerind  sculpture  and  carvTng  we 
have  a  line  of  art  progress  from  infancy  to  the  present  time. 


13 


U.  S.  Bu.  Eth. 
COPPER  BELL  IRUM  TENNESSEE 


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CHAPTKK   \'III 


SHELTRRvS,    DWELLINGS,    AND   ARCHITKCTURE 

THI')  Amerind  of  North  America  has  generally  been  consiu^rtJ. 
a  shiftless  and  indolent  being,  but  Lhe  pre_eding  pages 
have  shown,  I  think,  that  this  estimate  is  an  error,  and  the 
following  chapters,  together  wiih  the  present  one,  will  even  more 
conclusive!}-  demolish  that  false  assumption.  The  Amerind  to  be 
sure  was  not  a  white  man,  but  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  the 
constant  holding  of  the  white  man's  nose  to  the  grindstone  is  not 
so  commendable  as  it  is  often  said  to  be,  for  it  is  not  choice  with 
him  but  necessitj'  born  of  his  ways  of  living  and  his  great  num- 
bers. Put  him  in  comparatively  small  numbers  on  a  vast  conti- 
nent rich  and  fertile  and  abounding  in  game,  and  it  is  not  likely 
that  he  would  shut  himself  up  in  a  factor}'  or  in  an  office,  where  he 
is  only  a  counting  machine.  The  Amerind  was  as  industrious  as 
his  environment  demanded.  Doubtless  had  his  development  not 
been  interfered  with  by  the  Discovery,  he  might  hrn'e  arrived  in 
time  at  the  same  condition  of  pressure  that  compels  us  to  labour 
incessantly. 

Almost  everywhere  on  this  continent  are  discovered  numerous 
evidences  of  Amerind  industry  and  toil.  From  the  brush  shelter 
of  the  Pai  Ute  of  Arizona  to  the  vast  stone  structu^js,  ""ichly 
ornamented,  of  Yucata.i.  is  an  immense  range,  and  withi.i  these 
limits  are  to  be  found  about  ever}'  kind  of  a  refuge  from  the 
elements  that  mankind  has  been  able  to  devise.     Mud,  bought 

1 94 


ii!:, 


I 


Shelters,    Dwellincrs,   and   Architecture 


195 


caves,  wood,  adobe,  stone,  ice,  snow,  wicker-work,  wattling,  skins, 
in  fact,  every  material  and  ev^ery  possible  hole,  existing  in  natnre, 
have  been  utilised  by  the  Amerind,  and  the  materials  have  l)een 
given  every  variety  of  shape.  In  nothing,  perhaps,  has  his  strug- 
gle with  environment,  and  the  moulduig  effects  of  the  environ- 
ment, been  more  clearly  exhibited  than  in  the  forms  and  materials 
of  the  dwellings  he  has  been  compelled  to  invent.  Other  evi- 
dences of  his  perseverance  and  exertion  are  discerned  in  gru.it 
aqueducts,  in  long 
irrigating  canals,  in      ^ 

reservoirs,  in  huge  ■  -     '\  *      -    ""•  ■    • 

earthworks,  and 
enormous  mounds 
that  sometime'4 
rival  in  magnitude 
the  giant  construc- 
tions of  Egypt. 

The  Amerind 
dwellings  may  be 
divided  into  three 
general  classes, — 
temporary,  porta- 
ble, and  fixed.  The 
two  classes,  tem- 
porary and  fixed, 
only  are  usually 
recognised  by  eth- 
nologists,    but     it 

has  seemed  to  me  proper  to  add  the  third  class,  because  of  the 
wide  use  of  the  portable  tipi,  and  other  forms  of  tent.  The  tem- 
porary houses,  those  abandoned  on  moving  canp  and  seldom 
occupied  again,  may  be  represented  by  the  Pai  Ute  wikiup  ;  the 
portable,  carried  from  place  to  place  for  years,  by  the  tipi  of  the 
Dakotas  ;  the  fixed,  or  those  which  are  occupied  either  for  an 
extended  period  or  periodically,  by  the  stone  or  adobe  house  of  the 
Pueblos,  or  the  wood  house  of  the  Iroquois,  or  the  wood  and  earth 
house  of  the  Eskimo.' 

Outside  of  a  natural  cave  or  rock  shelter,  the  wikiup  of  the  Pai 

'  For  definitions  of  aboriginal  architecture,  see  Macmillan's  Dictionary 
of  Architecture. 


I'M    \'VV.    WIKiri'S,    NOP.rHKRN    ARIZONA 
in  photograph  by  the  Colorado  River  Kxpedition,  1872 


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196 


The   North-Americans  of  Yesterday 


Ute  exhibits  about  the  lowest  type  of  house  used  by  man.  It  is 
said  the  chimpanzee  makes  a  rude  hut  of  boughs  and  branches, 
but  even  that  could  scarcely  be  less  simple  than  the  Arizona 
vvikiup.  This  is  composed  merely  of  several  branches  arranged 
in  a  Semi-circle,  or  rather  more  than  a  semi-circle,  eight  or  ten 
feet  in  height,  their  tops  together,  and  covered  with  boughs  of 
cedar  or  pine  or  any  other  convenient  brush.  About  one  third  of 
the  circumference  is  open  to  the  south,  and  opposite  this  side  the 


-^■e"*i- 


U.  S.  Bu.  Eth. 


MOKI    KISI   CONSTRrmON 


fire  is  built  a  few  feet  away.  The  Pai  Ute  is  surrounded  by 
remains  of  excellent  stone  dwellings  constructed  long  ago  by 
Amerinds  who  are  believed  to  be  of  the  same  general  stock,  but 
he  has  never  tried  to  improve  his  wikiup  of  his  own  accord.  The 
Utes,  his  kindred  on  the  north,  live  in  good  tipis,  but  the  Pai 
Ute  appears  never  to  have  noticed  the  fact.  The  Mokis,  also 
allied  to  him,  live  not  far  to  southward  in  excellent  houses,  yet  he 
has  never  attempted  to  emulate  them. 

In  the  kisi  construction  of  the  Mokis  we  may  perhaps  see  the 
beginning  of  even  the  wikiup.  The  kisi  is  a  sort  of  windbreak  and 
sun-shelter  lightly  constructed  of  boughs  and  made  in  two  ways, 
one  called  kishoni,  being  simply  poles  .stuck  in  the  ground  in  the 
arc  of  a  circle  with  the  concave   side  towards  the  north,  and 


Shelters,   Dwellinj^s,  and  Architecture  197 


^fil 


interlaced  with  twigs  and  branches  to  form  a  shade.  The  other  kind 
is  built  by  planting  several  posts  with  crotches  at  their  tops  in  the 
ground  in  the  form  of  a  parallelogram  and  laying  other  posts  or 
poles  across  from  crotch  to  crotch  and  covering  these  with  poles  to 
form  a  platform  or  roof.  Against  the  whole,  on  the  south  side, 
poles  and  branches  are  erected  to  form  a  shade.  These  affairs  are 
put  up  in  the  fields  to  protect  the  crop  tenders  when  there  is  no 


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convenient  cliff  or  ledge  whereon  to  erect  a  better  structure  of  stone. 
Doubtless  out  of  these  shelters,  now  seen  in  the  field  structures, 
originally  grew  the  firm  adolie  and  stone  house,  by  one  step  or 
improvement  after  another,  and  probably  all  house  construction 
had  some  such  simple  beginning.  In  a  forested  area,  however,  the 
easy  construction  of  a  comfortable  house  out  of  poles  and  bark 
would  delay  any  development  of  a  durable  stone  or  adobe  struc- 
ture ;  the  adol)e,  indeed,  would  not  be  durable  in  a  humid  climate. 
Protection  and  subsistence  dictated  the  region  a  tribe  or  a  stock 
should  occupy,  and  the  region  usually  determined  the  character 
of  the  house  or  shelter.     House  building,  in  its  beginnings,  is 


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'I'lic  North- Americans  of  Yesterday 


lars;t;ly  a  res'ilt  of  environment,  and  was  developed  or  modified 
accordingly.  The  tribes  that  were  compelled  to  live  in  a  sterile, 
(lr>-  conntr}',  where  game  and  wood  were  both  scarce,  were  forced 
to  provide  themselves  with  different  food  and  different  siielter 
from  those  which  occupied  a  well-wooded  country  abounding  in 
game.  A  few  skins  and  poles,  in  the  latter  case,  would  quickly 
produce  a  house.  In  the  arid  region,  however,  man  was  not  pro- 
vided with  such  convenient  material.  His  .shelter  from  the  sun 
cost  him  much  labour  and  he  was  obliged  to  transport  his  neces- 


W. ,  i- 


■•■>"*/fc. 


L'.  S.  Hu.  Kth. 


.**■>■ 


A    NAVAJO    HOUSE 


sary  wood  long  distances.  Additions  to  the  shade  to  make  it 
nioie  comfortable  were  therefore  obtained  by  piling  up  stones 
or  scraping  together  the  mud  after  a  rain,  and  these  operations 
being  repeated,  a  development  of  .skill  was  the  inevitable  re- 
sult ;  skill  which  eventually  produced  a  wall  all  round  the  sun- 
shelter,  with  the  beams  of  the  latter  resting  upon  them  instead  of 
upon  posts. 

It  seems,  therefore,  altogether  probable  that  stone  and  mud 
house  building  originated  in  arid  regions  ;  but  in  a  region  treeless, 
like  our  great  plains,  the  inevitable  outcome  in  the  line  of  a  shelter 
was  the  portable  tipi  (teepee),  because  there  bison  hides  were  at 
liand  for  covering,  but  poles  of  the  proper  sort  were  difficult  to 
^'JCure  and  were  carried  along.  In  the  forest,  neither  portable 
leiits  nor  stone  houses  were  neces.sary.  It  would  onl}-  be  when 
population  was  dense  enough  to  destroy  the  game  and  timber,  or 
when  a  people  were  forced  to  an  arid  region,  that  the  .stone 
house  would  develop.  The  Iroquois  was  a  forest  Amerind, 
and  he  built  a  house  of  wood  that  was  excellent  in  construc- 
tion and  an.swered  his  purpose  admirably.     The  Navajo  occupying 


IH 


Shelters,    Dwelliims,   and   Architecture 


'99 


ter 
at 
to 
ble 
leu 
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id, 
lic- 


an  arid  region  has  lieen  content  with  a  rude  shelter  of  houghs  ;ind 
branches  or  with  boughs  or  poles  covered  with  nuul.  They  Ii.ivl- 
never  profited  by  the  example  of  their  Moki  neighbours,  and 
l)uilt  sul)stantial  houses, — one  reason,  and  the  chief  one,  being  that 
ihcir  hal)it  of  never  occupying  again  any  shelter  where  ilealh 
has  occurred  has  precluded  it,  for  they  do  not  care  to  bestow 
great  labour  on  a  structure  that  they  may  be  called  upon  any  time 
to  abandon.  There  are  then  other  causes  besides  ability,  or  ina- 
bility, to  build  sul)Stantially  that  determine  the  character  of  the 
Amerind  house. 


•.  S.  llu.  l.ili 


A   SUKAT    imrsK 


Bandelier  states  that  the  Pimas  "  dwelt  in  scattered  hamlets, 
the  houses  of  whicli  combine  to-day  the  nuul  roof  of  a  typical  Xew 
Mexican  pueblo  with  the  temporary  framework  of  frail  branches 


characteristic  of   the    roaming    savage.' 


The   roof   is  dome- 


shaped,  but  it  is  similar  in  material  to  the  Pueblo  nuid  roof, 
so  that  there  we  have  a  sort  of  a  cross  between  the  Moki  field 
shelter,  already  mentioned,  and  the  Navajo  hut  or  hogan. 
The  stock  from    which   the   present    Pimas  descended   are   sup- 

'  Bandelier,  Final  Report,  part  i.,  p.  103. 


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200 


The  North-Americans  of   Yesterday 


posed  to  have  built  the  remarkable  structure  in  Arizona  known 
as  Oisa  (imndi\  found  in  ruins  by  the  first  explorers.  Tribes 
alter  iheir  methods  of  building,  either  from  sununer  to  winter  or 
at  different  epochs.  The  Omahas  at  one  time  made  lodges  of 
wood,  at  another  of  earth,  and  at  still  another  time  they  dwelt  in 
tipis  of  skin.  If  a  stone-house-building  tribe  should  migrate  to  a 
region  where  neither  loose  flat  stones  nor  adobe  claj-  could  be 
readily  oljtained,  they  would  be  forced  to  use  timber.'  The  Zuni 
languages  and  traditions  point  to  the  occupancy  by  the  Pueblos  in 
early  times  of  l)rush  houses  like  those  of  the  Pai  Utes.  The 
Mohaves  live  in  low  luits  of  branches  covered  with  mud. 

The  communal  principle  of  living  pervaded  America  aiul 
largely  determined  the  size  and  character  of  the  dwellings.  A 
number  of  families  usually  lived  together,  in  the  .same  house,  or  in 
a  group  of  rooms  or  houses.  The  "  long-house  "  of  the  Iroquois, 
called  by  them  hodcuosotc,  and  the  clustered  fortres.s- houses  of  the 
Pueblos,  are  good  examples  of  the  results  of  the  practice  of  the 
connnunal  principles  adhered  to  by  most  of  the  Amerinds.  It  is 
al.so  believed  by  some  of  the  best  authorities,  like  Bandelier  and 
Morgan,  that  the  Mexican  and  Mayan  houses  were  largel}'  due  to 
the  same  cause. 

Among  the  Omahas  the  tipis  were  usually  grouped  according  to 
gentes."  Tipi  and  wigwam  are  frequently  used  by  us  as  .synony- 
mous, and  in  .some  dictionaries  a  picture  of  a  tipi  is  made  to  rcpre- 
.sent  a  wigwam.'  This  is  an  error  due  to  unfamiliarity  with 
different  forms  of  Amerind  dwellings.  The  tipi  is  generally  a 
portable  structure  while  the  wigwam  is  always  fixed,  and  the  latter 
is  also  of  a  different  shape.  Tipi  is  a  Dakota  term  and  wigwam 
is  Algonquin.  Tipi  is  really  the  plural  for  "  house,"  the  singular 
being  "  ti,"  and  "  pi  "  a  termination  indicating  plurality.''  It  is 
constructed  by  arranging  a  number,  sometimes  as  many  as  twenty 
or  thirty,  long  poles,  previously  tied  together  near  their  tops,  in  a 

'  Or,  if  the  climate  should  change,  the  character  of  the  hou.se  might 
change  with  it. 

-For  full  information  on  Dakota  customs,  etc.,  see  the  papers  of  the 
late  Rev.  James  Owen  Dorsey  in  the  third,  eleventh,  thirteenth,  and  fif- 
t'^enth  ./;/;/.  Repts.  Bu.  Eth. 

■'Wigwam  is  frequently  used  in  a  general  sense  to  designate  any  Amer- 
ind house  of  the  skin  or  earth  or  wood  type. 

••  Se  "  ti "  and  "pi"  in  Dakota-English  Dictionary,  vol.  vii. ;  CotiU 
£7.5.  (7.  5,  pp.  42:.  467. 


Shc'Itcrs,   I)\v(-'llinL,fs,   and   Architcctun?  201 


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if- 


circle  of  about  ten  or  fifteen  feet  diameter.  This  conical  franir  is 
llien  covered  with  bison  hides  sewed  together  in  one  sheet,  or  in 
modern  days  with  canvas,  shaped  properly  and  laced  or  pinned 
together  along  the  middle  third  of  the  junction  of  the  covering 
mantle.     The  upper  third  is  left  loo.se,  and  its  pointed  ends  are 


^^.-r:.j-:-HM..>(.'9o  ^ 


U.  S.  Hii.  Kth. 


.W   (iMAHA    III'I 


extended  up  and  out  by  means  of  outside  poles  stuck  into  pockets 
in  their  extreme  upper  corners,  according  to  the  direction  of  the 
wind,  to  let  the  smoke  escape  from  the  fire  built  in  the  middle  of 


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The;    North-Aincricaiis  of  NCstt-rdaN' 


the  i'llerior.  If  the  wind  blows  strai^lit  at  these  flaps  they  are 
hrouj^ht  close  toiijether.  Sonietiines  an  extra  skin  is  adjusted  at 
the  top  so  that  it  cm  he  placed  on  an>-  side  to  acconii)lish  this  ol)- 
ject.  The  lower  third  is  left  open  for  a  doorway,  another  skin 
lieini;  adjusted  l)efore  it  with  a  stick  to  spiead  it  near  its  upper 
en;!,  which  end  is  attached  to  the  tent.  The  bottom  of  the  tent 
cover  is  held  down  by  stakes  or  pins  driven  into  the  j;round.  In 
case  of  hi^h  winds,  stones  or  other  weij^hts  are  placed  on  the  bot- 
tom ed^e  of  the  skins  to  keep  them  down.  In  sununer  the  Omahas, 
and  other  tribes  of  the  Dakotas,  erected,  when  convenient,  an 
elliptical  lodj^e  covered  with  bark,  the  roof  bein<v  rounded  and  the 
construction  bein},^  <;enerally  similar  to  the  Al<,^on(|uin  elliptical 
wigwam.  It  was  not  more  than  .seven  feet  hi.nh,  while  the  tipi  is 
twelve  to  twenty  or  more.  These  tribes  also  sometimes  built  earth 
Iodides,  chiefly  for  sununer  use,  the  roofs  of  which  resembled  in 
construction  those  of  the  Pueblo  hou.ses,  though  they  were  conical. 
A  number  of  posts  were  .set  up  in  the  ground  to  support  in  their 
crotches  the  transver.se  i)eams  upon  which  numerous  slender  poles, 
about  two  inches  in  diameter,  were  laid  to  reach  almost  to  the  top 
where  a  hole  for  the  exit  of  smoke  was  left.  Again.st  the  outer 
series  of  posts  all  around  slabs  of  wood  were  .set  up  and  the  whole 
was  then  covered  with  earth  a  foot  or  two  thick  after  matting  and 
a  layer  of  grass,  or  grass  alone,  was  placed  on  the  rafters  or  roof 
poles.  This  lodge  was  circular,  the  roof  being  conical,  and  it  was 
entered  through  a  covered  way  about  ten  feet  long  and  five  feet 
wide,  the  outer  opening  of  which  was  protected  by  hanging  Ijison 
hides.  The  supporting  poles  or  posts  were  arranged  in  two  con- 
centric circles,  in  large  lodges,  the  inner  set  being  higher  than 
the  outer.  Compartments  within  opening  toward  the  fire  were 
formed  of  willow  matting,  or  skins. 

The  regular  tipi  was  decorated  in  accordance  with  tribal  cus- 
toms. Dor.sey  has  publi.shed  some  careful  notes  on  this  as  on  other 
matters  connected  with  the  tribes  of  tlr.i  Dakota  stock,  and  Catlin 
has  also  given  descrijHions.  The  decorations  were  often  the  result 
of  a  vision.  If  a  man  had  a  vision  of  the  aurora  he  depicted  it  on 
his  robes  and  tent,  the  latter  having  a  band  of  paint  around  the 
bottom,  above  which  was  a  zigzag  border  from  which,  on  one  side, 
three  stripes  were  drawn  to  the  top  of  the  tent,  four  on  the  other, 
and  one  in  the  rear.  If  he  had  a  vision  of  the  night  or  of  some 
other  "  superterrestrial  object,  he  blackened  the  upper  part  of  his 


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204  Th(;  North-Anicricans  of  Y(;stcrtlay 

tent  and  a  small  portion  on  each  side;  of  the  entrance."  Sonie- 
tinies  a  star  was  also  indicated,  and  night  was  represented  by  a 
l)lack  hand  above  the  middle  or  at  the  bottom.  A  tent  similar  to 
the  Dakota  tipi  is  in  wide  use  among  the  Amerinds.  Morgan 
states  t'-.at  the  Dakotas  were  living  in  bark-covered  houses  when 
first  discovered,  in  villages,  in  the  present  state  of  Minnesota,  and 
that  when  they  were  driven  "  upon  the  plains  by  an  advancing 
white  population,  but  after  they  had  become  possessed  of  horses, 
they  invented  a  skin  tent  eminently  adapted  to  their  present 
nomadic  condition.  It  is  superior  to  any  other  in  use  among  the 
American  aborigines  from  its  roominess,  its  portable  character, 
and  the  facility  with  which  it  can  be  erected  and  struck."  '  While 
this  is  probably  accurate  as  concerns  the  Dakotas,  it  is  likely  that 
other  tribes  invented  a  similar  tent  for  themselves,  before  tlie  ap- 
pearance of  the  Dakotas  on  the  plains."  Three  tipis  among  the 
Omahas  were  sacred,  and  sheltered  three  sacred  objects,  the  Sacred 
Pole,  the  Sacred  White  Buffalo-Cow  Skin,  and  the  vSacred  Hag. 
The.se  are  all  now  in  the  Peabody  Museum  at  Cambridge.  They 
were  built  like  the  common  tipi. 

The  wigwam  of  the  Algonquins  was  built  in  two  general  ways, 
using  bark  or  mats  for  covering.  One  form  is  made  by  planting 
elastic  poles  in  the  ground  and  bringing  their  tops  together,  and 
binding  the  whole  with  horizontal  poles.  It  is  unlike  the  tipi 
cause  it  is  not  portable,  because  the  poles  are  flexible,  and  bee 
the  sides  curve  out  from  bottom  to  top  instead  of  lieing  straight 
lines.  It  is  covered  with  birchbark.  It  is  from  ten  to  sixteen 
feet  in  diameter  on  the  ground,  and  from  six  to  ten  feet  high. 
The  fire  was  built,  as  in  the  tipi,  in  the  middle  of  the  floor  in  a 
slight  depression,  and  the  usual  outlet  for  .smoke  was  left  at  the 
top.  "  Such  a  lodge,"  says  Morgat;,  "  would  accommodate,  in 
the  aboriginal  plan  of  living,  two  and  sometimes  three  married 
pairs  with  their  children."  ■  The  Menominee- Algonquin  form  of 
wigwam  was  made  by  planting  in  the  ground  about  three  feet 

'Lewis  H.  Morgan,  "Houses  aiul  House  Life  of  the  American  Abor- 
tKines,"  Coutribtitions  to  N.  A.  Ethnology,  vol.  iv.,  p.   114. 

**  Castafieda  describes  the  Querechos  and  Teyas  in  1540  as  travelling, 
"like  the  Arabs,  with  their  tents  and  troops  of  dogs  loaded  with  poles,  and 
having  Moorish  pack-saddles  and  girths." — Winship's  translation,  Four- 
teenth Ann.  Rept.  Fin.  Eth.,  p.  527, 

^Morgan's  "Houses  and  House  Life,"  etc.,  p.   113. 


Slickers,   DwL'lliiiLTs,  and   Architecture 


205 


apart,  api>roxliiuitin};  tlie  form  of  an  ellipse,  slroiiy;  .sr^^Htips  some 
two  Indies  in  diameler,  leaving  at  eacli  eiul  an  upci  -r  a  door- 

wax-.  The  poles  are  then  l)ent  over  toward  each  olh..  and  tied  in 
an  arch  with  strips  of  hark.  Horizontal  poles  are  tied  on  to  the 
uprijiht  ones  for  stiffening,  and  the  frame  is  then  covered  with 
bark  or  mats  overlapping  each  other  like  shingles.  The  usual 
smoke  outlet  is  left  in  the  top.  A  mat  curtain  takes  the  place  of 
a  door.  There  were  seldom,  or  never,  regular  doors  in  any  Ame- 
rind hou.ses  on  the  continent  before  the  Discovery,  the  opening 
being  closed  by  curtains  or  mats.  Another  Menominee  .shelter, 
de.scribed  by  Hoilman,  was  made  by  "  putting  five  or  six  sap- 
lings on  each  side  of  a  parallelogram  ;  the  ends  are  left  open,  and 
tliv.  top  of  each  sapling  on  a  given  side  is  then  bound  down  over 
its  opposite  fellow  to  form  a  roof  vSomewhat  resembling  a  wagon- 
top.  Horizontal  saplings  are  then  bound  around  the  framework 
to  make  the  structure  secure,  and  over  all  are  laid,  longitudinally, 
a  series  of  long  strips  of  pine  bark  the  upper  pieces  overlapping 
those  below,  while  a  large  piece  is  placed  over  the  highest  part  of 
the  roof,  which  thus  sheds  the  rain  or  melting  snow.  .  .  . 
The  bedding  is  spread  on  the  ground  and  usually  covers  the 
entire  floor."  ' 

The  eastern  portion  of  the  continent  below  Labrador,  being 
well -forested,  the  Amerind  houses  there  appear  to  have  been  en- 
tirely of  wood,  or  sometimes  of  wood  and  mud  combined.  For 
this  reason  nothing  of  any  of  them,  except  occasional  earth  rings, 
is  to  be  found  and,  so  far  as  remains  of  houses  are  concerjied,  our 
wonderful,  surpassing  Moundbuilders  appear  to  have  had  no 
houses.  Turning  to  other  Amerinds,  however,  who  occupied  the 
country  when  the  whites  arrived,  we  glean  a  fair  idea  of  what  the 
houses  of  the  Mississippi  valley  may  have  been  at  their  be.st. 
They  varied  in  design  in  the  same  locality,  of  course,  according  to 
the  tribe,  in  the  same  way  that  I  have  mentioned  that  in  the 
vSouth-west  we  find  to-day  Amerinds  living  in  the  most  primitive 
form  of  dwelling  not  many  miles  away  from  others  living  in  high 
types. 

vSome  of  the  Mississippi  valley  hou.ses  were  doubtless  excellent 
structures  though  built  of  wood,  or  of  wattling  plastered  with 
mud.     Many  of  the  mounds,  squares,  and  circles  were  connected 

'  W.  J.  Hoffman,  "The  Menominee  Indians,"  Fourteenth  Ann.  Rept. 
Bu.  Eth.,  pp.  254-55. 


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206  The   North- AmcricFJis  of  Yesterday 


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with  buildings,  generally  forming  the  foundations  for  dwellinj^s  or 
other  structures  as  in  other  parts  of  the  continent.'  In  other 
words,  tlicy  were  often  platforms  for  houses.  The  reasons  for 
building  a  house  on  a  platform  raised  above  the  surrouiu  ing 
lands  might  be  many  ;  one  simple  one  was  a  desire  to  keep  the 
floor  dry  in  wet  weather.  The  floor  was  earth,  and  earth  on  a 
level  during  long  rains  got  uncomfortably  damp  if  not  wet.  It 
would  be  natural  in  building,  after  such  lessons,  to  elevate  the  floor 
of  the  house,   which  was  done  by  rearing  a  platform  of  earth. 


;  -Hi  ■te-ii 


u.  s.  nii.  F.tii. 

MISSISSII'I'I    VALLKV    Ml.lllol)    oK    USING    JACAL   CONSTRliCTION, 
A<C()K1)IN(1    TO    THOMAS 

This  gave  good  drainage,  and  besides  in  a  malarial  region  would 
be  more  healthful,  and  furthermore  added  to  the  defensive  quali- 
ties. The  habitations  being  built  upon  platforms,  it  would  not 
do  to  build  sacred  structures  on  low  ground.  Man  seldom  looks 
down  upon  his  spiritual  constructions.  Hence  the  higher  the 
sacred  building  could  be  placed,  the  more  sacred  it  seemed,  and 
the  huge  flat-topped  mounds  of  the  Mississippi  valley  and  Mexico 
were  the  result.  vSome  of  the  Florida  Amerinds  were  still  h  .ng 
in  dwellings  reared  on  platforms  of  this  kind,  and  so  were  others 
in  the  Southern  United  States,  at  the  time  of  the  first  vi^^iics  of  the 
whites.  The  mounds,  as  a  rule,  are  on  the  bottom  lands  along 
river  courses,  though  in  places  where  there  arv.  higher  terraces 
these  have  frequently  been  chosen.  Thomas  quotes  the  following 
passage  from  Garcilasso  :  "  The  town  and  the  houses  of  the  ca- 
cique O.Shachile  are  like  those  of  other  caciques  in  Florida.    .    .    . 

'  The  Lenape  houses  "  were  built  in  groups  and  surrounded  with  a 
palisade.  ...  In  the  centre  was  sometimes  erected  a  mound  of  earth, 
both  as  a  place  of  ob.^ervation  and  as  a  location  lo  place  the  children  and 
women."— Brinton,  TAc  Lenape,  p.  51- 


l;> 


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Shelters,    DwellinLTs,  and  Architecture 


!0' 


The  Indians  try  to  place  their  villages  on  elevated  sites  ;  bnt  in- 
asmuch as  in  Florida  there  are  not  many  sites  of  this  kind  where 
they  can  conveniently  huild,  they  erect  elevations  themselves  in 
the  following  nuunier  :  They  select  the  spot  and  carry  there  a 
quantity  of  earth,  which  they  form  into  a  kind  of  platform  two  or 
three  pikes  in  height,  the  snnunit  of  which  is  large  enough  to  give 
room  for  twelve,  fifteen,  or  twenty  houses,  to  lodge  the  cacicpie 
and  his  attendants.  At  the  foot  of  this  elevation  they  mark  out 
a  square  place,  according  to  the  size  of  the  village,  around  which 
the  leading  men  have  their  houses.  .  .  .  To  ascend  the  ele- 
vation they  have  a  straight  passageway  from  bottom  to  top,  fifteen 
or  twent}'  feet  wide.  Here  steps  are  made  by  massive  beams,  and 
others  are  planted  firmly  in  the  ground  to  serve  as  walls.  On  all 
other  sides  of  the  platform  the  sides  are  cut  steep."  '     Thomas 


el 


'it 


I 


■■-mmm^-'i  ■j::^-^^^:---^ 


U.  S.  Mil.  Eth. 

CLIFF   OUTLOOK,    CA.WON    DKL    MUIiKTO,    ARIZONA 


f  1    ! 


!  . 


I' :  t 


quotes  further  from  Garcila.sso  :  "  The  chief,  whose  name  was  also 
Guaxule,  came  out  with  five  hundred  men  to  meet  him  and  took 
him  in  the  village  (pueblo)  in  which  were  three  hundred  houses, 
and  lodged  him  in  his  own.  This  house  stood  on  a  high  mound 
(cerro)  similar  to  others  we  have  already  mentioned.  Round 
about  was  a  roadway  .sufficiently  broad  for  six  men  to  walk 
abreast."  "  Again  he  quote  I^e  Page  Du  Pratz,  who  visited  the 
Natchez  in  1720  :  "  As  I  wis  an  intimate  friend  of  the  sovereign 
of  the  Natchez  he  showed  me  their  temple,  which  is  about  thirty 
feet  square,   and  stands  on  an  artificial   mount  about  eight  feet 

'Cyrus  Thomas,    "  Mouud  Explorations,"    Tu'elfth   Ann.    Rept.    Bti. 
Eth.,  p.  647.  -Ibid.,  p.  649, 


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208 


'I'he   North-Americans  of  Yesterday 


high,  l)y  the  side  of  a  small  river."  '  There  was  also  still  another 
reason  for  building  on  mounds  or  elevated  platforms  ;  the  reason, 
or  at  least  one  great  reason,  wh}-  the  Mayas  and  Mexicans  built  on 
them,  namely  the  desire  to  protect  the  foundations.  In  Louisiana 
the  Taensas,  in  the  time  of  La  »Salle,  built  of  "  sun-baked  mud 
mixed  with  straw,  arched  over  with  a  dome-shaped  roof."  "  Now 
a  structure  of  this  kind  if  reared  on  ordinary  ground  would  soon 
be  destroyed  bj-  the  rains  and  moisture  sapping  its  foundations, 
but  by  placing  it  on  an  elevated  platform,  where  its  footing  would 
be  comparatively  dry,  it  would  endure  a  long  time.  A  sacred 
hou.se  would  be  likely  to  be  so  placed,  if  not  others. 

Lvery  tribe  had  .some  kind  of  a  sacred  structur-e,  the  Omahas 
carrying  from  place  to  place  the  three  sacred  tents  referred  to. 
The  sacred  structures,  too,  were  generally  of  the  same  style  as  the 
hou.se  of  the  chief.  Kach  village  of  the  Natchez  had  a  house  de- 
voted to  the  dead,  besides  others  dedicated  to  different  sacred 
objects.  The  death-house  was  oval,  "having  a  circumference  of 
one  hundred  feet — a  simple  hut  without  a  window,  and  with  a  low 
and  narrow  opening  on  the  side  for  the  only  door."  '  Here  were 
"  garnered  the  choicest  fetiches  of  the  tribe,  of  which  .some  were 
moulded  from  clay  and  baked  in  the  sun.  There,  too,  were  gathered 
the  bones  of  the  dead;  there  an  undying  fire  was  kept  burning  bj- 
appointed  guardians  as  if  to  warm  and  light  and  cheer  the  de- 
parted." '  "  Hard  by  the  temple,  on  an  artificial  mound  of  earth, 
stood  the  hut  of  the  Great  Sun  ;  around  it  were  grouped  the 
cabins  of  the  tribe."  '' 

It  seems  unnecessary  to  give  any  further  space  to  .show  that 
the  mounds  that  have  aroused  .so  much  discussion  and  romantic 
writing  were,  many  of  them,  the  foundations  for  various  structures 
reared  by  Amerinds  as  we  know  them. 

Morgan  advanced  a  theory  that  the  hollow  square  earthworks 
were  the  foundations  for  long  buildings,  at  one  and  the  same  time 
dwellings  and  a  part  of  the  defences,  the  interior  area  being  used 
for  a  work  place,  children's  playground,  etc.  Many  Algonquin 
houses  were  made  of  a  parallelogram  .shape,  with  straight  sides 
about  eight  feet  high  and  a  rounded  roof.  These  houses  were 
fifty  or  more  feet  long,  and  the  matting  with  which  they  were 

'  Cyrus  Thomas,  Txcclfth  Ann.  Rcpt.  Bn.  Eth.,  p.  653. 
"  Francis  Parkniaii,  Discovery  of  the  West,  p.  277, 
•'  George  Bancroft,  U.  S.  History. 


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210  The   Xorth-Ainuricans  o(  Yesterday 


covered  could  l)e  readily  removed  to  let  in  the  sun  and  air.  As  a 
rule  the  villages  were  surrounded  by  palisades.  The  Iroquois,  as 
well  as  most  other  Amerinds,  lived  in  permanent  villages,  which 


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Fickl  Columbian  Museum  W.  H.  Holmes 

■rKA.NSVEHSE    SKCTIOxN  (SOMKWir  \T    1 ;  I  \KU  Al.ISF.I))    SHOWINC    (  ONS  TKn    |  K  IN    OK 

I'ALl'.MjrK    lil'll  niNCS,    YICATAN 

y,  trefoil  opening  through  medial  wall  ;  ,<,',  //,  two  principal  varieties  of  roof  com'i) 

were  at  first  stockaded.  They  used  three  kinds  of  hou.ses  ;  a 
triangular  lodge  made  of  poles  with  bark  for  a  covering,  use.l  in 
hunting,  and  th^gauosote  or  smaller  bark  house  constructed  in  the 
same  way  as  the  third  kind,  the  JiOiUuosote  or  "  long-liou.se,"  which 


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2  12  The   North-Americans  of  \'(jstcrday 


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was  built  to  accommodate  a  iiumhiir  of  families.  This  was  sometimes 
a  hundred  feet  long,  and  from  il  came  the  name  Ilodcnosanncc  by 
which  the  great  League  of  the  Fi^'e  (vSix;  Nations  was  known  to 
the  world  and  to  themselves.  It  was  made  by  planting  poles  in 
the  ground  and  binding  others  across  them  to  make  a  strong  frame 
of  the  shape  of  a  parallelogram,  upon  which  a  roof  of  triangular 
pattern  was  built  out  of  poles  covered  with  bark.  Sometimes  the 
roof  was  round  like  that  of  many  Algonquin  tribes,  and  that  of 
the  ganosote  was  very  frequently  round.  The  height  of  tht.  sides 
was  about  ten  feet.  The  ganosote  was  about  fifteen  by  twenty 
feet  and  fifteen  feet  high,  with  inside  a  kind  of  double  berth  built 
against  the  longer  walls  like  the  berths  in  a  ship.  It  would  accom- 
modate eight  persons.  The  entrance  was  closed  by  skins  or  by 
bark  hung  on  wooden  hinges.  The  covering  was  bark  held  in 
place  by  an  outer  set  of  poles  tied  through  to  the  inside  ones. 
The  long-house  was  divided  into  a  number  of  chambers  six  or 
eight  feet  wide  with  a  passageway  through  all  from  end  to  end 
where  the  doors  were.  ' '  Between  each  four  apartments,  two  on 
a  side,  was  a  fire-pit  in  the  center  of  the  hall,  used  in  common  b}' 
their  occupants.  .  .  .  Raised  bunks  were  constructed  around 
the  walls  of  each  apartment  for  beds."  '  These  structures  consti- 
tuted the  village  which  was  surrounded  by  a  palisade,  sometimes 
a  double  or  triple  row.  The  houses  were  placed  without  arrange- 
ment ;  and  when  the  league  grew  powerful  the  palisade  was  dis- 
pensed with.  The  Lenape  "  constructed  small  wattled  huts  with 
rounded  tops  thatched  with  the  leaves  of  the  Indian  corn  or  with 
sweetfiags.  ...  In  summer  light  brush  tents  took  the  place 
of  these."  ■ 

On  the  North-west  coast  the  native  houses  are  usually  built  of 
cedar  slabs.  These  slabs  are  .split  out  of  the  wide  trees  °  and  the 
walls  are  obtained  by  securing  them  in  an  upright  position  to 
a  frame  about  ten  feet  high.  On  this  rests  the  roof  of  split 
.shakes,  bark,  or  boards,  laid  on  rafters  which  are  supported  in  the 
middle  by  two  long,  heav}'  beams,  ruiniing  the  entire  length  of 
the  house,  and  themselves  borne  up  by  four  huge  posts,  often 


,1  i  : 


'  L.  H.  Morgan,  Houses  and  House  Life,  p.  120 ;  see  also  The  Iroquois 
Leas;ue,  by  INIorgau. 

-  Brinton,  The  Ameticau  Race,  p.  77. 

•*Gibbs  cites  a  split  plauk  he  saw  in  Puget  Sound  region,  24  feet  long 
and  4^  feet  wide 


m 


5: 

■  1 


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Shelters,    Dwellings,   and  Architecture  213 

carved  with  totemic  etnbleins.  The  general  outward  appearance 
of  tliese  houses  is  much  like  an  ordinary  low  one-story  house  or 
barn  of  our  own,  except  that  in  the  middle  of  the  roof  there  is  a 
large  square  hole  for  a  smoke  outlet,  the  fire  being  made  on  a 


U.  S.  Bu.  Eth.  -  ••  I 

MOKl  NOTCHED  DOORWAY,  SO  MADE  THAT  LARGE  l;UM)I.I.S  COULD  BE  TAKEN  IN 
The  transom  was  probably  at  first  a  smoke  outlet 

patch  of  sand  or  earth  that  forms  a  square  about  nine  by  ten  feet 
in  the  middle  of  the  room,  the  size  depending  on  the  dimensions 
of  the  house.     They  are  usually  about  thirty  or  forty  feet  square,' 

'  Gibbs  mentions  a  house  of  the  Makah,  north-west  Washington,  75  feet 
long,  40  wide,  aiid  15  high,  all  ouv.  room ;  and  another  used  for  festivals  520 
feet  long,  60  feet  wide,  15  feet  high  in  front,  and  10  feet  in  the  rear. — 
George  Gibbs,  "  Tribes  of  Western  Washington  and  North-western  Oregon," 
Contributions  U.  S.  G.  S.,  vol.  i.,  p.  215. 


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214  Tlic   Xorth-Ainericans  of   Yesterday 


1  I  ii 


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If    I 


M  t; 


the  interior  fonning  one  large  room,  sometimes  having  a  platform 
on  one  or  two  sides  or  all  the  \va\-  round  aljout  six  feet  wide  and 
two  feet  high.  This  is  divided  by  thin  partitions  into  small  com- 
partments, which  are  covered  al>out  six  feet  above  the  floor  with 
a  ceiling  of  thin  boards.  A  curtain  in  front  makes  a  room  of  it. 
The.se  houses  vary  .somewhat  in  the  different  localities,  but  the 
type  is  about  the  .same  from  the  Puget  Sound  region  to  Vakutat 
Bay.  Some  of  tlie  Sound  Amerinds  give  but  one  pitch  to  the 
roof.  Many  of  the  natives  now  build  a  hou.se  of  .sawed  materials 
and  roof  it  with  shingles  so  that  their  modern  villages,  like  the 
one  at  Sitka,  present  outwardly  few  Amerind  signs,  as  they  usually 
have  chinmey.s,  too,  in.stead  of  smoke  holes.  Where  they  have 
the  latter,  boards  are  stuck  up  above  the  ridge  to  form  a  wind- 
break, or  a  more  perfect  arratigement  for  preventing  back 
draught  is  applied  in  the  shape  of  a  large  .solid  shutter  .so  pivoted 
in  the  middle  line  that  it  can  be  tilted  from  one  side  of  the  ridge 
to  the  other.  Among  .some  tribes  there  are  .several  smoke  holes 
with  adjustable  boards  that  can  be  worked  from  below  with  a  pole. 
The  entire  front  gable  of  a  chief's  house  or  an  assembly  house  is 
often  ornamented  with  a  huge  tottrnic  design,  painted  on  smooth 
boards  that  fill  the  whole  space.  In  front  of  the  house  stood  the 
tall  pole  bearing  the  totems  of  the  inmates  carved,  one  al)ove  an- 
other, with  a  full  relief  totem  adorning  the  top.  Small  houses 
were  built  to  hold  the  boxes  containing  the  ashes  of  the  dead,  and 
the  roof  was  sometimes  surmounted  with  a  totem  carved  in  wood, 
or  the  totem  was  erected  on  a  small  pole  nearby,  or  placed  under 
the  roof. 

In  all  the  constructions  of  the  Amerinds  of  the  North-west 
coast  we  perceive  the  powerful  influence  of  surroundings  on  a 
primitive  people.  The  region  abounds  in  superb  cedars  with  a 
grain  so  fine  and  straight  that  the  logs  can  be  readily  .split  into 
slabs  a  couple  of  inches  thick,  that  are  admirable  material  for 
building  purposes.  Then  there  are  plenty  of  young  straight  hem- 
locks, firs,  and  cedars  for  rafters  and  framework,  so  that  these 
Amerinds,  like  those  of  the  cliff  region  of  the  South-west,  had  their 
building  material  almost  ready  made.  Being  largely  fishermen, 
they  were  not  well  supplied  with  .skins,  .so  that  it  was  not  easy  to 
make  pole  lodges  covered  with  them,  as  was  the  case  with  many 
Amerinds  of  the  interior,  where  trees  were  ab.sent  or  hard  to  split 
and  where  skins  were  plenty. 


M. 


'I 


"  'J 


Shelters,    Dwellint^s,   and   Arcliitecturc  215 

In  California  a  variety  of  liouses  was  built,  as  there  are  many 
difTerent  stocks  and  conditions.  The  Vokuts  made  them  of  tnle 
mats  in  the  shape  of  an  "  A  "  tent  with  a  door  at  the  front.  A 
half  dozen  or  more  of  these  were  i)laced  in  a  row  and  above  them 
a  flat  sun-shelter  of  branches  laid  on  a  platform  of  poles  supported 
by  crotched  po.sts  set  in  the  ground.  Others  build  a  hut  of  slal>s 
or  Ixirk  l)rought  to  a  point 
and  open  on  one  side,  like  a 
tipi  cut  in  two.  Others  again 
live  in  wikiups  made  by  cover- 
ing a  square  framework  with 
l)oughs,  leaving  one  side  open. 
When  the  side  of  an  Amerind 


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A  /.CM   CIIIMNl'.V,    Mi)KI     lill     >\Mi. 


•  INK  liik\I   i>l'  \tnKl  CIIIMNKV  IIOOD 


hut  is  left  open  in  this  way,  the  opening  always  faces  the 
south,  except  in  hot  weather,  when  it  generally  faces  the  other 
way.  Another  California  tribe  lives  in  earth  lodges  entered 
from  the  top  through  a  hole  or  hatch  with  steps  on  the  outside. 
This  lodge  was  made  by  excavating  a  couple  of  feet  and  putting 
this  earth  on  the  covering  framework,  for  a  roof.  In  the  mount- 
ains where  wood  was  plenty  they  frequently  used  no  earth  at  all, 
showing  how  quickly  they  adapted  themselves  to  circumstances. 
The  Modoc  "  excavates  a  circular  space  from  two  to  four  feet 
deep,  then  erects  over  it  a  rounded  structure  of  poles  and  punch- 
eons, strongly  braced  up  with  timl>ers,  sometime.s  hewn  and 
squared.  The  whole  is  wannly  covered  with  earth,  and  an  aper- 
ture left  atop,  reached  by  a  centre  pole.     Before  the  coming  of  the 


a  \ 


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'»' 


F'  V 


216  Th(i   North-Americans  of  Yesterday 

whites  secured  them  against  tlie  constant  assaults  and  incursions 
of  their  enemies,  their  dwellinjj^s  were  slighter,  consisting  generally 
of  a  frame  of  willow  poles,  with  tule  matting  overspread."  '  An- 
other tribe  of  the  Pacific  vSlope,  the  Maklieichtl,  build  cabins  "  of 
slender  willow  poles  set  upright  in  the  ground,  with  others  cross- 
ing them  horizontally,  forming  a  s(juare  lattice- work."  ''  The 
Vokaya  have  a  lodge  or  dwelling  composed  of  a  "  huge  framework 
of  willow  poles  covered  with  thatch,  and  resembling  a  large  flatlisli 
haystack."  The  Karok  "  excavate  a  round  cellar,  four  or  five 
feet  deep  and  twelve  or  fifteen  feet  in  diameter.  Over  this  they 
build  a  .square  cabin  of  .split  poles  or  puncheons,  planted  erect  in 
the  ground  and  covered  with  a  flattish  puncheon  roof.  They  eat 
and  sleep  in  the  cellar  .  .  ,  and  store  their  supplies  on  the 
bank  above  next  to  the  walls  of  the  cabin."  "  The  Maidu  make 
a  hut  of  slabs  placed  together  in  .something  the  shape  of  a  tipi, 
with  a  low,  .square  projection  for  an  entrance. 

Pa.ssing  northward  to  the  Aleuts,  we  find  "  houses  Iniilt  with 
the  floor  somewhat  below  the  level  of  the  outside  soil,  the  walls  of 
whale- ribs,  sticks  of  wood,  or  upright  stone  walls,  covered  out.side 
with  mats,  straw  and  finally  turf.  .  .  .  The  roof  was  formed 
bv  arching  whale-ribs,  or  long  .-ticks  of  driftwood,  matted, 
t  latched,  and  turfed  like  the  sides,  with  a  central  aperture.  A 
platform,  .somewhat  rai.sed,  around  the  .sides  of  the  hou.se  afforded 
a  place  for  sitting  and  sleeping.  Later  each  village  had  a  large 
house  or  k'asfiini,  which  served  as  a  common  work-shop,  and  a 
lodging  for  strangers,  as  well  as  for  a  town-hall  for  their  discus- 
sions and  festivals.  .  .  .  Still  later,  in  a  period  not  greatly- 
antedating  the  historic,  the  Aleuts  began  to  build  large  com- 
munistic dwellings  with  features  peculiar  to  themselves,  without 
doors,  and  entered  by  the  hole  in  the  roof,  the  inmates  descending 
on  a  notched  log  placed  upright.  These  large  yourts  were 
divided,  by  partitions  of  wood,  stone,  or  matting,  into  small  rooms 
like  the  state-rooms  of  a  .steamer,  but  without  doors  ;  open  toward 
the  center  of  the  yourt,  and  each  accommodating  one  family."  * 

It  will  be  noted  that  we  have  again  changed  materials  of  con- 
.struction  ;  and  why  ?  Because  the  Aleutian  Islands  are  devoid  of 
timber,  devoid  of  good  building  stone  that  an  Amerind  could  get 

'  vStepheti  Powers,  "Tribes  of  California,"  Contributions,  etc.,  vol.  iii., 
p.  155.  '^  Ibid.,  p.  215.  '  Ibid.,  p.  45. 

•*  W.  H.  Dall,  "Tribes  of  Alaska,"  Contributions  (J.  S.  G.  S.,  vol.  i.,  p.  S2 


m> 


1 


!  ^.1 
1  t 


Slickers,    Dwellings,  iiiul  Architecture  217 

at,  and  he  resorted  tlierefore  to  what  there  was— driftwood,  wh.de- 
rihs,  turf,  etc'  The  iiouse  called  by  the  Russians  hainluha  seems 
to  have  been  originally  made  of  turf  even  to  the  roof,  and  I  siw 
examples  in  the  sunnner  of  1S99  at  I'nalaska  and  on  St.  Paul 
Island.  The  turf  or  sod  was  cut  into  slabs  and  laid  up  like  stones. 
Continuing  northward  we  reach  the  vast  treeless  arctic  regions, 
where  cold  is  the  great  enemy,  and  the  reader  wonders  what  man 
cnu  (1(1  her(>  in  the  wav  of  architecture.    Me  has  done  considers  I  iL  : 


r  H 

%^ — I' 


u.  s.  nil.  rth. 


C.ROISI)    I'l.AN    OK    ESKIMO    SNOW    ir.I.U 


among.st  other  things  he  devised  the  only  true  arch  found  on  the 
continent,  and  constructed  one  of  the  most  admirable  and  unicjue 
dwellings  in  the  world.  This  he  built  out  of  the  snow  which  fell 
about  him  and  prevented  him  from  securing  other  material.  The 
invention  of  the  snow  hou.se  by  the  Eskimo,  or  Innuit.  as  they 
call  themselves,  was  one  of  the  greatest  triumphs  over  environ- 
ment man  has  ever  accomplished.  I  refer,  of  course,  to  the  per- 
fected snow  house,  the  dome-shaped  iiilu^cak,  commonly  called  by 
us  ii^loo  or  igln.  li^lu  is  the  Iniuiit  generic  term  for  "  hou.se,"  the 
distinctive  name  for  snow  house  being  ii^lia^rak.  This  snow 
house  is  begun  by  selecting  a  suitable  deep  drift  that  is  compact 
enough  to  permit  homogeneous  blocks  to  be  taken  from  it,  with 
the  snow-knife,  which  is  a  bone  tool  .shaped  like  a  short  sword. 
Latterly  steel  saws  are  employed  when  they  have  them.  In  the 
pit  formed  by  removal  of  blocks  of  snow  the  builder  works  at  his 

'  The  tree  growth  ceases  at  about  the  line  of  the  village  of  Kodiak  on 
Kodiak  Island.  The  Aleuts  ranged  over  the  Aleutian  Islands  and  castv.;ird 
as  far  as  Stepovak  Bay  on  the  peninsula. 


iL 


'  I' 


}; 


(. 


ill 


1;    i' 

1' 

'i 

\  ■■ 

5 

rill 

A 

fi  i'^'! 


1|: 


I    1 


'  I 


i 


''III; 


J  J 


ri' 


Mi 


I  i.  1 


it  ' 


I 


ill 


2iS  'llu:    North-. Xincricans  of   N'cslcrday 

walls,  the  hottoiii  of  the  (jxcavatif)n  finally  foriniiij;  the  floor  of  tlic 
house.  The  first  block  is  bevelled  down  to  a  wedj;e  shape  with 
the  |)oiiil  toward  the  beginning,  and  the  worker  j^oes  on  round  his 
circle,  and  when  he  conies  aj;ain  to  the  wedge  his  wall  ri.ses  upon 
the  first  portion  ami  continues  thus  in  a  sjMral  fashion  to  the  top. 
constantly  narrowing  till  :it  last  one  block  fills  the  opening.  It 
takes  two  to  adjust  this,  though  one  may  build  a  small  hou.se  suc- 
cessfully to  that  last  point.  By  building  .spirally  and  therefore 
continuously,   there  is  alwaxs  support  on  two  sides  for  the  lajit 


u.  s.  r.ii.  Kth. 


SKCI  |c  IN    nr    SNOW     ICLU 


block  laid.  The  edges  are  slanted  at  the  same  time  to  bring  the 
tiers  gradually  toward  the  centre.  Joints  and  holes  are  filled  with 
snow,  though  a  small  hole  is  left  at  the  top  for  ventilation.  As 
the  heating  of  this  house  is  done  with  lamps  there  is  little  smoke. 
iMir  camping  purposes  a  small  snow  house  is  built,  seven  feet 
diameter  and  five  feet  high,  in  about  two  hours.  When  made  for 
jiernuinent  use  the  house  is  about  twelve  feet  high  and  fifteen  feet 
diameter.  Plenty  of  light  comes  through  the  snow,  but  a  window 
of  ice  or  .seal  intestine  is  often  placed  over  the  entrance,  which  is 
reached  by  a  more  or  less  extended  passage,  with  vaults  for  stor- 
age, by  the  way. 

But  though  this  hou.se  is  .so  cleverly  built,  and  is  warm,  and 
proof  again.st  everything  but  mild  weather,  the  Innuit,  if  he  can, 
will  build  a  permanent  winter  house  of  drift  wood,  stones,  earth, 


I 


Sl'.(.'ltL'rs,    I  )wcllii\L;s,   and    Arihilci'liirc 


J  19 


.111(1  sf)(l  and  whale- ri  I  IS.  TIil'Sl-  from  IIil-  outside  look  like  inouiids 
i)t'  c  utii,  and  as  soon  as  warm  weather  comes  aie  nothini;  l)Ut  wet 
cellars,  which  the  inhabitants  (juickl)'  abandon  lor  the  time,  erect- 
inj;  with  their  walrus  and  seal  skins  a  sununer  lent,  called  a  tiipch 
or  /('/)</•.  The  I'oint  Harrow  tupek  is  something  like  a  tipi,  with- 
out a  smoke  hole,  as  the  fire  is  l)uilt  outside  when  they  can  secure 
wood  to  build  one.  All  the  Alaska  Innuit  now  use  canvas  tents 
of  the  "  wall  "  paUcrn,  when  they  can  procure  them. 

The  Amerind  of  the  interior  of  the  nortliland,  where  timber 
grows,    utilises  it  and   the   skins  of   the   animals  he  kills.     The 


'-M-J*"JJ^Jfe!e.r 


•2r."-''.«  '"•- 


U.  S.  P.U.  Kth 


AN    ALASKA    KSKINM    W  I  \  1  I  R    ll()r>l,     I'liIM     llAKU'iW 
liilrri'ir  Mild  sectinns  p.  321 


Nenenot  about  Hudson  Bay  occupy,  all  the  year  round,  a  tent 
almost  identical  with  the  Dakota  tipi. 

No  construction  on  the  continent  shows  more  skill  than  the 
Innuit  .snow  iglu.  The  winter  houses,  of  snow  or  other  material, 
are  usually  occupied  by  two  or  more  families.  Many  interiors  of 
snow  houses  are  lined  with  the  summer  tent  covering  to  prevent 
the  drip  of  the  walls  from  falling  on  the  occupants. 

As  the  polar  regions  developed  the  snow-house;  forest  regions, 
bark  and  mat  houses  ;  barren  plains,  portable  tents  ;  .so  arid  re- 
gions, where  disintegrating  cliffs  furnished  an  abundance  of  flat 
slabs  of  stone,   evolved  stone  houses,  and  broad  dry  valleys  or 


I    4 


I    i  It 
it 


;f' 


'  11 


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■ 

i    ■    I'V] 

,11 

;i^ 

: 

1 

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SI' 


2 20  The   North- Americans  of  Yesterday 

plains  lacking  cliffs,  timber,  or  large  game,  but  yielding  good 
clay  soil,  produced  houses  of  mud  or  adobe  ;  or,  according  to  con- 
ditions, such  combinations  of  these  materials  as  were  easiest  and 
most  practicable.  It  is  next  in  order  to  review  the  houses  of  the 
arid  regions  constructed  of  stone,  adobe,  jacal,  cajon,  pise,'  etc., 
and  the  cavate  lodges.  To  do  full  justice  to  the  subject  of  houses 
would  require  a  separate  volume,  but  enough  may  be  gi\'en  here 
to  present  a  general  view.  The  occupied  villages  of  the  vSouth- 
western  United  States  are  similar  to  the  ruins  found  throughout 

that  region,  and 
the  cliff -dwell- 
ings, which  some 
writers  would 
clothe  with  mys- 
tery, as  has  been 
mentioned,  were 
no  more  mysteri- 
ous than  the  oc- 
cupied dwellings 
of  the  Moki  ;  or 
any  other  Pueblo 
village,  which, 
fortunately,  re- 
mains inhabited 
by  the  bi.ilders.'' 
The  cliff-dwell- 
ings were  con- 
structed in  cliffs 
simply  because  it 
was  expedient  to 
build  them  there  and  not  because  the  builders  were  a  race  apart 
from  other  Amerinds.  The  canyons  where  the  cliff-dwellings  oc- 
cur have  bottom  lands  that  are  fertile  and  easily  irrigated,  both  by 
stream  water,  and  after  the  Pueblo  fashion,  by  guiding  shower 
waters  with  hoes  amongst  the  corn.  This  in  itself  was  a  sufficient 
object  for  building  in  the  canyons,  and  the  huge,  natural  conchoidal 

'  For  definitious  of  these  terras  see  Macinillan's  Dictionary  of  Archi- 
lecture. 

'  Schwatka  found  cliff-dwellings  occupied  by  Tarahumaris  in  northern 
Mexico.     See  Cave  and  Cliff-Divellers^  by  Frederick  Schwatka,  p.  187. 


U.  S.  Bu.  Kth. 

INTERIOR   UROLiNU    I'LAN    OK   A    VoKI    HOUSE 


u 


'  \ 


IMliKloK   <Jl'    Wunl)   ANU    I.AUIll    Kil.l 


.  r  .v.,  I      <   y,'f        ,      ,,,,,,  ,.^jj 


yv.t'.!*i»_ 


■ti^ 


VtRTICAb     SCCTION. 

r   >,  Hu.  F.th. 

AN    ALASKA    KSKIMo    WIMKR    IKUsK    nl'    WUoli    ANU    KAKIH,    lolNl    IfAKkUW 

821 


(« 


\ 


K 


i 


;    ' 


u\ 


■j 
i. 

if 


« 


111 


222  1  he    North-Aiucricans  ot    \  csU  rday 

•alcoves  that  occur  in  the  faces  of  the  |)ievaiHii<;  formation  were 
attractive  places  to  laiihl  in  for  several  reasons,  one  of  which  may 
have  been  i)rotection  from  assault  and  the  weather,  and  another 
the  frecjuent  presence  ol  springs  at  the  1:)ack  of  these  ca\-ities. 
These  springs  have  almost  vanished,  in  many  cases  have  en- 
tirely tlisappeared,  owing  to  slightly  drier  conditions  now  prevail- 


ih  ■ 


i;  ^f  ■ !, ' 


5» 


-iL: 


^-    - 


U.  S.  r.n    Kth. 


~I"NK    STF.rS    AT   ORAIBI 


|i. 


ing.  But  I  have  frequently  noticed  at  the  liack  part  of  many  of 
the  cavities  that  had  no  ruins,  or  few  ruins,  to  cover  it  up,  a 
moisture  that  might  at  times  increase  to  a  dripping,  or  even  flow- 
ing, that  would  furnish  enough  water  for  the  daily  supply  of  a 
considerable  Amerind  village.  The  construction  is  the  same  as 
other  Pueblo  houses  of  stone. 

The  inhabited  pueblos,  like  the  ruins,  usually  consist  of  a 
number  of  rooms  built  adjoining  or  on  top  of  each  other,  like  a 
lot  of  sf[uare  boxes  placed  in  rows  or  in  a  pyramidal  pile,  or  like 
a  .series  of  steps,  with  the  total  height  at  the  back  often  straight 


i 


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of 

,   a 

)\V. 

a 

as 

If  a 

le  a 

like 


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11 


'    I 


224  The  North- Americans  of  Yesterday 

down.     One  or  two  sin.i^le-rooni  houses  are  fiist  built,  and  then 
ad  iitions  arc  made  from  time  to  time  till  the  pile  grows  to  a  con- 


I  ,! 


!| 


)  -i  i 


!  m 


il    ..     it   ! 


Phi>ti>i;r.ii>li  by  U.  S.  GcoUij^ical  S\irvcy 

MOUSES    IN    W.M.li,    I  INK   OF  THE   MOKI   TOWNS.    AKIZONA 

111  ihis.irc  well  seen  the  pliistt-ri';!  mil  uiipl.istcrcil  walls  cpf  stmie,  the  l.idders  nf  ascent,  the  "end 
wall"  steps,  the  iiMtilied  dnnrwav,  with  traiisdin,  the  prujectiriK  ronf  heaiiis,  .1  rahliit-skin  robe 
haiigiii};  1111  the  wall  above  the  riKlit-h.iiul  ladder,  and  also  on  the  left  the  entrance  Id  a  passage- 
way thnnijjh  to  another  court 

siderable  height  ;  three  or  four  stories.'     Groups  of  these  groups 
built  near  each  other  form  courts  l^etween.     The  lower  tier  of 

'  In  early  days  upper  stories  in  New  Mexico  were  souietinies  built  of 
wood,  plastered. 


'  3 

I!        1' 


l)l)C 

Isane- 


|ups 
of 

U  of 


t  , 


»   .  ! 


.* 

i 

r 

1' 

\ 

'  1 

; 

1 

^!!l: 


It 


226 


The   North-Americans  ot    VcstiTchiy 


I    '1  i 


rooms,  in  olden  times,  was  not  entered  from  the  gronnd,  hut  from 
the  roof  through  a  hatcluvay,  a  ladder  leading  up  on  the  outside 
and  down  on  the  inside.  The  upper  rooms,  or  houses,  were 
entered  from  the  roofs  of  the  lower  ones  ;  that  is,  the  roofs  of  the 
lower  rooms  formed  the  floors  of  the  upper  ones,  and  also  hulconics 
in  front  of  the  rooms.  I  occupied  for  a  time  one  of  these  upper 
rooms  in  Tewa,  on  the  "  East  Mesa"  at  the  Moki  towns,  and  I 
found  the  roof  in  front  of  my  door  a  delightful  place,  connnand- 
ing  a  view  of  the  whole  mesa  ai\d  a  hundred  miles  beyond.  I 
could  also  reach  the  top  of  my  house  easily,  by  a  sort  of  stairway 
formed  on  the  edge  of  the  prolonged  wall  that  separated  me  fiom 
my  neighbour,  and  as  this  was  the  summit  of  the  village  my  view 
was  superb.  Such  stairways  are  connuon  in  all  the  villa-^es.  The 
ladders  by  which  the  various  roofs  are  reached  are  now  much  like 
our  own,  but  rudely  made,  and  the  upper  ends  are  often  very  long, 
extending  in  many  ca.ses  far  above  the  house-top.  The  walls, 
about  a  foot  thick,  are  of  stone  slabs  laid  in  adobe  mortar,  and  are 
generall}'  built  up  by  the  women,  who  take  their  own  time  to  the 
work,  adding  a  few  stones  whenever  they  feel  like  it.  Beams  of 
small  tree-trunks,  six  to  eight  inches  in  diameter,  form  the  basis 
of  the  flat  roof.'  They  are  laid  across  the  top  of  the  walls  and  the 
ends,  if  too  long,  usually  allowed  to  project  beyond.  These  are 
covered  with  smaller  poles  laid  al)out  a  foot  apart,  and  on  these 
are  spread  .slender  willows  or  reeds,  with  a  layer  of  grass  or  twigs 
next,  on  which  a  layer  of  adobe  mortar  is  laid  and  earth  trod- 
den down  on  top  till  it  is  firm,  when  a  finish  is  made  with  an- 
other coat  of  adobe  mortar.  A  slight  pitch  is  given  to  the  roof. 
No  plumb-line,  level,  or  .square  was  used  by  the  Amerinds  any- 
where on  the  con'"nent  .so  far  as  is  now  known.  Sometimes  the 
floors  are  paved  with  irregular  flat  sandstone  slabs,  but  in  most 
houses  the  floor  is  formed  by  a  coat  of  adobe  mortar  which  is 
patched  and  renewed  as  needed.  Moccasined  feet  are  not  hard 
on  such  a  surface,  but  my  heavy  soled  shoes  were  the  despair  of 
the  owner  of  my  habitation.  The  hand  is  used  as  a  trowel.  The 
chimney  is  usually  at  one  corner,  and  did  not  exi.st  in  America 
previous  to  the  sixteenth  century.  A  hood  is  built  down  from 
the  roof  to  within  about  three  or  four  feet  of  the  floor,  to  catch 

'  For  details  of  Pueblo  architecture,  see  paper  on  the  subject  by  Victor 
Mindeleff,  Ei^/i/h  Ann.  kept.  Bii.  Eth.  And  "The  Cliff  Ruins  of  Canyon 
de  Chelly,"  by  Cosmos  Mindeleff,  Sixteenth  Ann.  Rcpt.  Bit.  Eth. 


II 


oin 

Itch 


SSCTIQN  THROUGH.  A  B. 


a 


DooffyvAY. 


6£CTION   THROOGH  CD. 


U.  S.  Bu.  Eth. 


I'l.AN    AND   SECTIONS    oK    A    CAVATK    I.UIJGE 
227 


'H 


\ 

\ 


*:■! 


'      i 

:  ^ 


\  * 


I    ! 


:''  I 


1^ 


1  !•  ill 


;l     '- 


i^ 


'•■ 


Jif 

k 


■■  ); 


I.  f 


ii 


i(|i( 


1'' 


'in 


i; 


228 


Tlic   Xorth-Ainericcins  of  Yesterday 


the  smoke,  and  outside  the  chimney  is  built  up  about  three  feet, 
siMuetimes  witli  stones,  l)ut  more  frequently  with  larjife  earthen 
pots  with  the  bottoms  knocked  out.  Tlie  hood  is  formed  of  sticks 
plasUied  with  adobe  mortar.  Doorways  were  formerly  of  the 
notched  variety  '  closed  by  a  curtain,  and  the  hatchways  were 
closed  by  a  mat  of  reeds.  In  later  times  the  doorways  have  be- 
come like  our  own,  and  doors,  too,  have  l)een  made  out  of  sawed 
l)oards.      My  door  at  Tewa  was  hung  on  hinges  and  had  a  latch 

and  string.  Olazed  windows  have 
al.so  been  adopted  in  many  houses. 
The  Rio  Cirande  pueblos  are  built 
of  adobe  bricks,  and  so,  largely,  is 
Zuni,  but  there  is  little  adol»e  in  the 
Moki  towns,  except  in  the  form  of 
plaster  and  mortar.  The  Rio 
Grande  pueblos  were  largely  con- 
structed of  adol)e  when  first  visited 
in  1540.  The  Puel)lo  Amerind  fre- 
(juently  abandoned  his  village  for 
,.  „  ,.    ,,  ,  one   cau.se  or   another  and  built  a 

I   .  S.  llii.  I  til. 

i,iA..i<AM  sHcwiNv.  ,..„  KKT  AT  p.ACK   "'■-^^'  ^HG  clsewhere,  .so  while  his  vil- 
oi-  s()::r,  iavatk  i.i>i>c,i>  lage  may  be  called  a  permanent  one 

It  w.ispnibMbly  a  r.(:ipt:u;lc  fnr  water     itWaS    nOt    UUlcll     UlOre     SOtluiUVil- 
which  dripped  slowly  from  tlie  nick  in  wtt     ,  r-     .  1  \  1  •  it 

seasons  lages  ot    the   Algonqunis   and   Iro- 

(juois. 
Besides  houses,  some  of  the  Amerinds  of  the  South-west  dwelt 
in  shelters  excavated  wholly  or  in  part  in  the  face  of  a  cliff  or 
mountain,  or  hill.  There  are  four  localities  where  these  cavate 
lodges  occur  in  numbers,  the  northern  Rio  Grande  valley,  the  San 
Juan  River  valley,  the  San  Francisco  mountain  region,  and  the  Rio 
Verde  v;dley  in  Arizona.  There  are  in  these  places  thousands  of 
cavate  lodges.  They  average  in  size  two  or  three  rooms,  .some- 
times conununicating  b}-  a  'edge,  sometimes,  often,  in  fact,  with 
excavated  comiections.  Some  of  the  Verde  group  '  are  cut  back  a 
long  distance  into  the  rock  —  fortv  or  fiftv  feet.  The  rooms  are 
both  oblong  and  circular,  about  seven  feet  high  and  ten  by  seven- 
teen feet  in  size, or  eight  or  ten  feet  diameter, according  to  the  shape. 

'  See  Maciiiillan's  Dictionary  of  Architecture. 

•See  paper  by  Cosmos  Mindelefi",  "Aboriginal  Remains  of  the  Verde 
Valley,"  Thirteruth  Ami.  Rcpt.  lin.  Eth. 


Shelters,    DwelliiiLj^s,  and   Architecture        ?2q 

There  were  no  chimneys,  the  fire-pits  being  near  the  entrances. 
Nor  were  there  any  windows,  the  doorway  being  the  only  opening 
to  the  outside.  Floors  were  levelled  by  filling  depressions  with 
adobe  clay  and  low  ridges  were  built  up  of  the  same  material,  prob- 
ably to  keep  the  iiunates  off  the  bottom,  which  must  have  some- 
times bet'ii  damp.  Poles  or  willows  laid  across  the  ridges  with 
skins  on  them  would  have  made  a  flooring.  Depressions  at  the 
back  walls  appear  to  have  been  made  to  hold  water,  and  dou])tless 
at  times  there  was  a  "  .seepage  "  of  cunsideral)le  amount,  as  I  have 
suggested  regarding  the  open  conchoidal  caves  occupied  l)y  the 
Cliff-dwellers.  What  appear  to  be  stepping-stones  are  found  in 
some  entrances,  as  if  water  at  times  flowed  out.  The  \'erde  group 
are  in  a  soft  grey  sandstone,  the  Rio  Grande  in  tufa,  the  San  Fran- 
cisco in  cinder  hills.  The.se  cavate  dwellings  are  simply  another 
form  of  Amerind  residence  due  to  necessity  or  expedience.'  In 
other  places  there  are  .some  that  were  undoubtedly  merely  farming 
outlooks,  occupied  only  during  the  crop  season,  just  as  there  are 
cliff  houses  for  this  purpose,  and  also  houses  erected  singly  in  open 
valleys.  But  many  cavate  lodges  were  actual  residences  for  a 
period  of  years,  owing  to  circumstances  of  one  kind  or  another. 
The  Cliff-dwellers  may  still  be  found  among  the  Tarahumaris  of 
northern  Mexico.  Schwatka  describes  some  who  "  had  walled 
up  the  outward  face  of  a  cave  nearly  to  the  top,  leaving  the  latter 
for  ventilation."  Many  .small  cliff-dwellings  in  other  places  were 
so  made  to  allow  the  smoke  to  escape.  That  is,  the  wall  along  the 
outer  edge  of  the  cavity  was  not  carried  quite  up  to  the  rock  above, 
so  that  the  smoke  could  drift  out.  There  was,  therefore,  no  roof 
over  the  dwelling,  but  it  was  sheltered  by  the  overhanging  rock. 
Many  more  examples  of  this  adaptation  of  the  dwelling  to  circum- 
stances might  be  added. 

There  are  ruins  scattered  all  over  the  South-west,  many  of 
which  were  built  by  the  same  set  of  Amerinds,  and  do  not  repre- 
sent a  vanished  popidation.  Still,  I  believe  that  the  population 
was  at  one  time  nnich  greater  than  it  was  when  our  acquaintance 
with  it  began.  Internecine  wars  resulting  from  a  diminution  of 
water-supply  :  diseases  introduced  by  the  whites  ;  atid  also  the 
attacks  and  absorption  of  tribes  by  the  wilder  Amerituls,  being 
some  of  the  causes  of  the  diminution.  It  would  not  be  po.ssible  to 
describe  even  all  the  prominent  ruins  here,  but  I  will  mention 
'  See  illustrations,  pp.  225,  227,  22S. 


}  r 


i 

n 


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i 


i^'i 


ii 


ti' 


r 


t 


I 


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li 


230  The   Nortli-Amcricans  of  Ycslcrclay 

several.  Hep:inniiiR  easterly  of  the  Rio  Grande,  we  find  the  Pecos 
Ruins  first  of  importance.  There  are  also  remains  of  a  lar^e  adobe 
Catholic  church  and  a  convent  here,  not  finally  and  fully  aban- 
doned till  about  1S40.  The  ruins  consist  of  two  chief  bnildinj^s  on 
a  low  table,  surrounded  by  an  artificial  wall.  The  bnildinj^s  were 
in  the  form  of  rectangles,  with  courts  within,  one  55  by  440  feet, 
and  the  other  170  bv  350  feet.     In  places,  they  were  three  or  four 


Field  Columbian  Museum 

IlIKORETIC   ROnr   CONSTRl'CTION    OF   MITI.A 


W.  H.  Holmes 


.1'  iM  ''  'IJ.  * 


r.V! 


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It  1    I 


stories  high,  terraced,  Pueblo  fashion.  The  construction  was 
slightly  different  from  the  ordinary,  as  the  upper  floor  and  roof 
beams  rested  mainly  on  heavy  upright  posts  set  into  the  walls, 
and  not  directly  on  the  walls  them.selves.  The  whole  framework 
was  thus  independent  of  the  enclosing  walls,  very  much  as  our 
modern  .steel  frame  buildings  are.  The  walls  were  of  sandstone 
.slabs,  and  were  from  one  to  two  feet  thick.  Another  group  of  im- 
portant ruins,  and  about  the  finest  specimens  of  the  stone  buildings 
of  the  ancient  Pueblos,  is  that  of  the  Chaco,  in  north-western  New 
Mexico.'  There  are  eleven  chief  ruins,  and  many  .smaller  ones. 
The  principal  ruins  were  once  houses  three,  four,  or  perhaps  five 
stories  high,  all  built  of  sandstone  .slabs  and  blocks  obtained  from 
'  See  the  writings  of  Geo.  H.  Pepper,  director  of  the  Hyde  Expedition. 


CKIl.lNti    Ilk     Kdol'    I'l.AN 


U.  S.  Hii.  Kth. 

CKDIM)    I'l.AN    i)|-    A    KIVA    AND    CI.II.INC    I'LAN    OF   ANOTIfKR 

The  entrance  is  by  ladder  throiinh  the  hole  in  the  ceilinK'i  which  is  also  the  smoke  outlet.  The 
floor  is  paved  with  slabs  of  stone,  and  is  about  12  inches  hi>;hcr  at  the  rinht-hand  end.  There 
are  places  im  eaih  side  for  the  looms,  blankets  being  woven  in  the  kivas.  The  fireplace  is  the 
black  square.  .At  the  kft  is  the  plank  containin>j  the  s.icred  orifice  called  the  sipapu.  The 
foot  of  the  ladder  rests  on  the  edge  of  the  raised  portion  uf  the  floor 


231 


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I'lu'   North-AiiK  ricaiis  of  N'cstcrday 


the  dchris  of  tlic  cliffs.  vSoiml' of  the  walls  ;irL'  still  st  indium;  tntlie 
liL'ij^lit  of  thiity  or  forty  feet.  All  are  not  uiiifonii  in  the  way  llic 
stones  are  laid,  the  variation  bcinj;  due  to  hiiildinj:;  at  dilTerL-nt 
times,  and  to  a  variation  of  the  available  snitply  of  slabs.  The 
stones  were  nsnall>-  laid  so  closelj',  and  so  carefiiily  chinked  with 
spalls,  that  the  ontside  of  the  walls  resembles  a  smooth  mosaic  ; 
thon^h  ado))e  mortar  and  rubble  were  freely  used  in  the  interior. 


l'1» 


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ClIACii    kl   INS    MASONRY 
From  /\, ■/>:•)  f  (if  ilaydcn  Expeditimi  ;  _•  ;iii(l  3  not  found  iti  modern  Pueblo  architecture 

Lintel.s,  as  was  generally  the  case  throughout  America,  were  of 
wood.  The  date  of  the  abandonment  of  these  buildings  is  not 
known.     They  were  first  mentioned  by  Ciregg,  in  i<S44.' 

There  were  many  round  towers  of 
stone  in  the  South-west,  also  the  work 
of  the  Pueblos.  vSome  stand  alone  but 
most  of  them  are  near  other  ruins. 
Often  they  were  built  with  two  or  three 
^^^1    ^-^  i— 1  concentric  walls  from  two  to  five  feet 

^^^  apart.      A  double-walled  tower  on  the 

Mancos  had  an  outer  diameter  of  fort\- 
three  feet.  Some  of  them  ma>-  have 
i^een  watch- towers, but  those  connected 
with  vother  buildings  were  perhaps  religious  .structures,  or  were 
used  somewhat  as  the  kiva  ''  is  to-da3\     The  kiva  is  a  room  now 

'  Cominerci'  of  /he  Prairies. 

•Sec  Macinillan's  Dictionary  of  Architecture.  Kiva  is  a  Moki  term  to 
replace  the  Spanish  estufa,  which  is  misleading.  The  kiva  is  not  a  sweat 
house,  as  the  Spani.sh  term  seems  to  imply.  A  sweat  house  or  lodge  is  ex- 
pressly built  and  heated  for  the  purpose  of  a  sweat  bath. 


From  H.'iyden  Kcpott 


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11 !  .f  • 


234 


The   North-Americans  of  Yesterday 


usiirilly  squnrL',  in  part,  or  wholly,  helow  the  general  surface  of  the 
locality,  used  as  a  kind  of  club-house,  council-house,  loun.^ing 
place,  and  meetini?  place  for  nienihers  of  the  society  to  which  it 
heir  .gs  ;  and  also  a  lodi^inj;  place  for  the  men  ;  women  are  gen- 
erally excluded.  In  Zuiii,  the  kivas  are  rooms  on  the  ground 
lloor.     Many  ancient  kivas  were  round. 

Ailobe  l)rick  and  adobe  clay  in  various  forms  were  largely 
employed  by  the  South-we.sti.'rn  and  Mexican  Amerinds,  and  there 
are  evidences  that  some  tribes  in  the  Mississippi  valley  also  used 
it.  In  the  Rio  Orande  valley  the  ado))e  is  made  into  large  bricks, 
sun-dried  and  laid  up  with  a  mortar  of  the  same  material.  Other- 
wise the  villages  are  nnich  the  same  as  tho.se  described.  One  (J 
the  best  modern  examples  of  the  adobe  construction  is  the  village 
of  Taos  in  north-eastern  New  Mexico.  (vSee  illustration  page  3. ) 
Another  method  of  employing  adobe  is  seen  in  the  famous 
ruin  called  C'dsc  (invidc,  near  Florence,  Arizona,  which  our 
government  recentl>-  repaired  .so  that  it  \.'ill  endure  for  a  con- 
siderable time.  This  was  made  by  the  cajon  method  ;  that  is, 
tlie  adobe  nuid  was  ranuned  into  large  chests  or  boxes  of 
wicker,  without  top  or  bottom,  and  when  the  material  was 
sulTiciently  dried  to  hold  its  shape  the  frame  was  removed  and 
the  operation  repeated  till  the  wall  was  finished.  The  ruin 
teferred  to  is  ony  one  of  a  number  that  were  still  standing  in 
an  area  of  about  sixty-five  acres  in  1744,  when  Father  Sedelmair 
saw  them.  lie  described  the  present  ruin  as  having  four  stories, 
but  only  three  are  now  distinguishable  at  the  highest  part.  Its 
age  is  unknown.  Its  builders  are  supposed  to  have  been  the  an- 
cestors of  the  present  IMmas,  though  probably  there  was  consider- 
able dilTercnce  in  the  matter  of  culture.  I'*alher  Kino,  in  1694,  was 
the  first  ICuropean  to  see  the  place  and  it  was  a  ruin  then.  It  was 
doubtless  a  connnunal  dwelling  like  all  the  other  large  structures 
of  the  Amerinds  of  this  region.  Its  si/e  on  the  ground  is  fort >- 
three  by  fifty-Jiine  feet.  Partitions  three  or  four  feet  thick  divide 
the  interior  into  five  rooms,  the  ujiddle  one  having  higher  walls 
than  the  re.st.  The  atlobe  l)locks  are  two  feet  high,  three  to  five 
long,  and  three  or  four  acro.ss,  and  are  almost  as  hard  as  sandstone 
while  dry.  There  may  have  been  upper  stories  of  plasteretl  wat- 
tled posts.  Another  fiunous  ruin  similar  to  this  is  the  Casas 
(iraiufts  in  Chihuahua,  Mexico.  It  is  built  in  nuich  the  .same  way 
as  Casa  (rriin(ii\   and  there  are  more  buildings  there  standing. 


I'ield  L  oluiiibian  Museum 


W.  H.  H.iliuLs 


IKAN^VKRSE    teCTION    OK    AN    oKHINARV    VfAIKC    IH'IIDINC 

y,  capstones  of  corbel  vauk ;  i,  roof  cr«M  or  comb.    Such  a  building  itood  on  the  top  gf  a  mouod 


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236 


The   North-Americans  of  Yesterday 


Probably  there  were  at  one  time  a  great  nianj'  structures  of  this 
kind  in  that  region,  and  there  may  be  others  still  standing  in  less 
explored  parts.  In  the  Salt  River  valley  many  of  the  buildings 
were  of  a  somewhat  different  type  again,  as  concerns  their  wall 
CO  istructior/  The  Hemenway  Kxpedition  excavated  a  great 
many  sites  and  found  that  the  walls  were  often  adobe  rannned  in 
between  two  series  of  posts  wattled  with  reeds  and  cross-braced 
with  sticks,  the  outer  part  of  the  wattled  frames  being  plastered 
with  adobe  mortar.  The  thinner  walls  were  constructed  with  only 
one  line  of  wattled  posts  plastered  on  both  sides,  after  the  manner 
of  the  Mexican  construction  known  as  jacal,  which  is  a  set  of 
poles  fixed  in  the  ground  and  then  plastered  on  one  or  both  sides 
with  mud.  The  upper  stories  of  some  of  the  Rio  Grande  struc- 
tures in  the  early  times  were  made  of  wood  probably  plastered  this 
way,  which  explains  why  in  the  southern  part  of  New  Mexico 
there  are  not  now  found  higher  standing  walls  of  ruins  or  evidences 
of  several  stories."  Examples  also  have  been  seen  in  South-western 
Colorado,  where  a  kind  of  wicker-work  was  built  on  the  top  of  a 
wall  and  plastered  on  both  sides.  In  the  Salt  River  ruins  the  ex- 
istence of  the  wood- work  was  indicated  by  the  cavities  Ie''t  l:y  its 
decay.  There  were  also  other  structures  built  without  the  wattled 
frames.  The  cajon  and  pise  construction  are  very  much  alike, 
one  being  a  Spanish  and  the  other  a  French  term,  except  that  any 
pounded  or  rammed  earth  construction  might  be  pise,  while  the 
cnjon  is  distinctly  made  by  ramming  earth  into  a  box. '  There- 
fore the  Cdsa  Grande  would  be  a  clear  example  of  cajon,  wliile 
the  vSalt  River  con.struction  of  adobe  rammed  between  the  wattled 
frames  would  be  pise  ;  and  the  plastered  wicker-work  would  be 
jacal.  The  pise  and  cajon  metl'.od  is  very  old  all  over  the  world. 
It  is  still  to  be  found  in  France  and  Englatid.  In  France  the  pise 
box  is  about  three  yards  long,  one  yard  high,  and  about  half  a 
yard  wide.  The  readiness  with  which  the  Amerind  took  advan- 
tage of  his  resources  in  the  architectural  line  is  again  apparent  in 

'  See  J/c'w.  ^V(//.  .Icad.Scietices,  vii.,  j).  146.  Introduction  by  Washing- 
ton Matthews. 

'  '  And  have  five  or  six  stories,  three  of  them  with  tnud  walls  and  two 
or  three  with  thin  wooden  walls." — "  Relaciou  del  Suceso,"  FonrU'cntli  .1//;/. 
Rcpt.  Bit.  Eth.,  p.  575. 

'■'Littrd  gives  pi^t  as  "made  with  a  species  of  large  bricks  made  in 
wooden  moulds";  piscr,  "to  construct  by  beating  earth  between  two 
planks." 


Field  Columbian  Museum 

FORMS   OF   THK    MAYA   CORBF.I,    VAT'I.T 


\V'.  II    Holmes 


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j^^.S  The   Xorth-Aincricaiis  of  Yesterday 

these  j;reat  adobe  structures  of  tlie  Amerinds  of  northern  Mexico 
anil  llie  .South-western  Uiiiteil  States.  It  is  not  .sensible,  there- 
fore, when  st)ine  style  of  construction  is  discovered  differing;  from 
that  which  we  have  been  accustomed  to  see,  to  a.scribe  it  to  .some 
mysterious  race. 

In  southern  Mexico  they  erected  extensive  cities  or  pueblos  be- 
cause there  they  were  more  crowded  toj^ether  than  anywhere  to  the 
northward,  but  these  cities  were  ess-jntially  the  same  as  the  more 
simple  towns  in  the  northern  country.  At  Tlascala  "  the  houses 
were  t)uilt,  for  the  most  part,  of  mud  or  earth  ;  the  belter  .sort  of 
stone  an. I  limi,',  or  bricks  dried  in  the  sun.  They  were  unpro- 
vided with  doors  or  wiiulows,  but  in  the  apertures  for  the  former 
hun^  mats  friui^^ed  with  pieces  of  copper,  or  .somethin.i;  whiLb  by 
its  tiid-:lin.n  sound  would  K'^'*^  notice  of  anyone's  entrance.  The 
streets  were  narrow  and  dark."  '  This  extract  from  Prescott 
mit^h^  picture  a  Xew  Mexican  pueblo  instead  of  one  of  the  towns 
encountereil  by  Co  le/.  wliicli  ha\'j  l)een  often  so  romantically  de- 
.scribcd.  The  copper  on  the  mats  was  probably  more  for  Amerind 
ornament  than  lor  the  purpose  stated  l)y  Pre.scott.  While  in  .some 
respects  the  .\/tec  towns  may  have  been  more  elaborate  than  the 
Xew  Mexican  towns,  there  was  probably-  not  much  difference  in 
their  method  of  construction.  "  The  principal  buildings  untl 
temples  of  the  city  were  covered  with  a  hard  white  stucco  'vhicli 


i^listeiied  like  enanu.'l  in  the 


This  was 


E^OF^Tl^ra 


Kii'lil  ('oluiiilii.tii  Miisciiiil 

i;K()1:N|)    II...\\S    ny    Wc.Wl.r.    lllII.DI.NiiS 
I  iMi'is  at  X 


W.  II.  H.ilnii-s 


]icrha]is  a  /ash  of  .u\i)siferous  cla}-  similar  to  that  used  b\-  the 
.Mokis,  ov  t  may  have  been  similar  to  the  zahcab  of  the  Mayas, 
which  was  a  sin.nular  and  abundant  white  earth  useii  by  them  ns 
a  stucco.     It  was  found  in  pockets. 

"  The  (lwellin^:;s  of  the  common  ])eoi)le  were  also  placed  on 

foinidations  of  stone  which  rose  to  the  hei^;lit  of  .i  few  feet,  and  were 

then  succeeded  by  courses  of  unbaked  bricks,  crossed  occasionally 

by  wooden  rafters."  ''    The.se  rafters  were  the  projectin,i.j  ends  u(  the 

'  Prcscott,  A/txiiV,  i.,  p.  .j;.).         '  /biJ.,  ii.,  p.  70,         '/A/'i/.,  ii.,  p.  no. 


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J40  The  Nortli-Amcricans  of  Yesterday 

poles,  as  ill  the  Pueblo  country.  The  adobe  houses  in  Mexico  are 
now  often  l)uilt  on  stone  foundations,  for  it  is  the  foumlation  that 
is  sapped  and  undermined  by  the  rains.  The  upper  walls  of  adobe 
slaiul  well  in  a  climate  of  that  sort.  Pre.scott  .says  of  the  houses 
of  the  "  dignitaries  "  and  of  the  "  principal  nobles  "  that  "  They 
were  low,  indeed;  .seldom  of  more  than  one  floor,  never  exceeding 
two.  ]iut  they  were  spread  over  a  wide  extent  of  ground  ;  were 
arranged  in  a  quadrangular  form,  with  a  court  in  the  centre,"  '  all 
of  which  sounds  suspiciously  like  a  connnunal  dwelling,  as  Morgan 
miintains  the  A/tec  houses  were.  The  A/.tecs  were  crowded 
around  the  lake  of  Mexico,  and  also  built  out  over  the  water  on 
pib-s.  Houses  raiseil  above  the  water  or  ground  were  nothing 
unusual  in  America.  Some  of  the  Xorth-west  coast  Amerinds 
built  dwellings  which  were  "  raised  and  supported  near  thirty  feet 
from  the  ground  !)>•  perpendicular  spars  of  verv  large  size  "  with 
"  ac.-ess  formed  by  a  long  lix-e  in  an  inclined  position  from  the 
])latform  to  the  groiiiul.  with  notches  cut  in  it  by  way  of  steps 
al)0Ut  a  foot  and  a  half  asunder."  ' 

vSo  far  as  the  A/tec  houses  are  concerned,  "  None  of  the  vSpan- 
ish  descriptions,"  asserts  Morgan,  "  enable  us  to  realise  the  exact 
form  and  structure.  .  .  .  But  for  the  pueblos,  occupied  or  in 
ruins,  in  New  Mexico,  and  the  more  remarkable  pueblos  in  ruins 
in  Yucatan  and  Central  America,  we  woidd  know  very  little  con- 
cerning the  house  architecture  of  the  Sedentary  X'illage  Indians."  ' 

Morgan  believes  all  were  joint  tenements,  but  in  this  he  may 
\)j  mistaken,  for  the  life  of  the  Aztecs  seems  to  have  passed  to  a 
point  sonu;what  higlier  thin  that  of  the  New  Mexican  Amerinds, 
and  a  further  development  of  Aztec  life  certainly  included  a 
further  development  of  their  house-life  also. 

Within  a  ilay's  journex  of  the  Cit\-  of  Mexico,  Sav.lle  investi- 
gated some  intere<ing  ruins  of  an  old  "temple  "  erected,  according 
to  a  t  dtlet  founc  there,  in  1502.  the  signs  on  the  t;iblet  represent- 
ing a  rabi)ii  and  ten  dots,  or  ten  /or/////,  corresponding  to  this 
date.  It  was  built  of  rubble  sione  covered  in  many  places  inside 
with   stone  carving   tliat   had   been   painted.*      There   were  also 

'  rn-scoU,    Wi  \!(V.  ii.,  ]i.  lijt^  '-J'ovaffrs  of  Vaiicouz't'i;  ii.,  p.  274. 

Al.iiyiin,  /fiii(\C  /-//',  1>.  2.1I,  I'l'i  tlu'  liousfs  and  house  life  of  some 
model  h  1  :ive  and  elilT  dwi  Uei  s  see  l'n/cuou)i  }/r.\iio,  by  Carl  I^nidioltz. 

^  .M.  H.  Saville,  "  Teiiijjlu  of  i'epo/.tlaii,"  Afovumcnta/  Records,  i., 
No.  (. 


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Tlic   North-. \nicricans  of  \'('st('r(lay 


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oriianicnts  in  stiicci).  The  outer  walls  are  nearly  six  I'eet  thick. 
It  is  (Jii  the  top  of  a  hi^h,  iliif-like  mountain  diflicult  of  access, 
near  the  Mexican  town  of  Tepo/.tlan.  Another  splendid  ruin  near 
this  is  the  Temple  of  Xochicalco.     See  illustrations,  pages  _\^  and 

The  greatest  group  of  architectural  remains  on  this  continent 
is  that  o'  the  Ma>a  region,  mainly  in  Yucatan.  I'or  a  full  de- 
s.-ription  of  many  of  these  Iniildings  the  reader  is  referred  again 
lo  the  ailmirahle  work  of  M  ludsley.  The  Mayas  wire  the  greatest 
architects  as  well  as  the  greatest  artists  and  greatest  in  alnin^t 
everything  (»f  all  the  Amerinds,  and  if  Goodman  is  correct  in  his 
rendering  of  some  of  their  chronology  they  occupieil  tlu  region 
more  than  ten  thousand  \e.irs.'  .Mound-like  fountlations  sup- 
])orted  the  bnihiings,  which  generally  rose  as  from  a  terrace, 
though  sometimes  the  mound  was  ver\  high  and  very  .steep,  with 
small  space  around  the  building  crowning  it.  At  Copaii,"  which 
was  in  ruins  before  the  .Spaniards  arrived,  there  is  a  great  main 
terrace  from  which  mounds  rise,  the  latter  bearing  the  buililings. 
Tile  casing  of  the  mound  and  the  walls  of  buildings  are  of  nicely 
dressed  oblong  stones  usually  without  mortar.  The  joints  were 
not  broken  here,  nor  in  other  Maya  work.  The  mound  slopes 
were  terraced  at  five-foot  intervals  and  the  .steps  were  about  five 
feet  high.  The  so-called  "triangular  arch"  probably  existed 
here  as  it  did  at  the  other  Maya  ruins.  It  was  made  by  advanc- 
ing the  courses,  several  feet  alcove  the  bise  of  an  opening,  grulu- 
ally  toward  each  other  till  they  met  above,  where  a  large  .slab  was 
usually  laid  across  to  bind  the  whole  together.  The  ceilings  or 
roofs  of  many  rooms  in  Maya  ruins  were  wholly  made  this  way. 
It  has  also  been  called  a  corbel  arch,  though  it  is,  in  fact,  not  au 
arch  at  all,  .See  illustrations,  ])ages  jm,  j;;,,  and  2,^7.  There 
was  no  arch  in  .\merindian  architecture  besides  the  one  the 
Ivskimo  constructed  in  his  snow  hut.  The  rooms  are  generally 
long  and  narrow  in  all  the  Maya  structures  and  no  windows 
existed.     The  Maya  inabilit\-  to  span  wide  spaces  was  the  cause 

'  C^oodiiiun  ill  J>i(^li)(>;ia  CiH/fii/i  .  In/iriauhi.  I'roiti  an  inscription  uii 
i^  hack  of  the  "  Vucatec  Stone"  lo,;;,!  years  hatk  to  tlie  dale  of  an  action 
represented  on  tlie  front  of  the  stone  from  lSc)5. 

Cyrus  Tlu)nias  {.  liiiii  ican  .  lntliiof>o/oi;ist,  ]\\\\,  iSyy)  says:  "Here 
we  see  the  cuhnin.ition  of  Mayan  art."  There  art'  stveral  terraces,  but  one 
is  so  larye  as  to  eclipse  the  others. 


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244 


'I'Ik:   North-Am   I'icans  of    N'cstcnlav 


dl"  tlic  narrow  rooms  ami  buildings.  At  Uxmal  IIkj  two  main 
rooms  of  the  so-called  (lovtriior's  Palacu  are  sixt_\  I'ect  long 
and  only  eleven  to  lliiiletjn  t'eel  wide.  The  walls  of  all  the  .struct- 
ures are  very  thick,  ihongli  certain  walls,  as  the  rear  ones,  are 
usually  thicker  than  the  others  and  have  no  openings,  the  latter, 
as  a  rule,  being  along  one,  two,  or  three  .sides.  This  was  a  i)i'ob- 
al)L-  siu'vival  of  earlier  defensive  constructions  similar  to  the 
ronununal  fortresses  of  the  I'uebloan  type  as  particularly  e.\em- 
plified  in  the  ruins  of  the  Chaco  in  New  Mexico,  where  there 
were  no  rear  openings.  See  ground  plans,  i)age  2.^2.  At  l*alen- 
(|ue  are   some    fine   exiunples   of  the    Maya   construction.     The 


I'.  ^.  Nat.  .Mil. 


i.i.i:vArii)\  01    KWAKir  1 1.  iiorsK 


largest  is  called  the  jxilace  and  is  iSo  feet  wide,  22S  feet  long, 
and  25  feet  high,  with  fourteen  doorways  on  the  .side  and  eleven 
at  the  ends.  It  was  one  story  in  height,  as  were  all  Mr.ya  build- 
ings. There  is  a  vast  amount  of  carving  and  stucco  modelling 
aronnl  them.  One  of  the  most  unique  constructions  is  that 
called  the  "  Temple  of  the  Cross."  number  one,  or  two,  or  three, 
by  different  explorers,  there  being  two  structures  nuich  alike. 
.See  note  2.  page  1.S4.  This  is  oti  top  of  a  high  mound,  and  is 
fifty  feet  front,  thirty-one  fjet  deep,  and  about  forty  feet  high. 
The  roof  was  something  like  our  gambrel  type,  being  the  same 
all  around  without  gables,  with  a  level  platform  about  three 
feet  wide  along  the  ridge,  from  which  arose  a  peculiar  stone  and 
stucco,  latticed,  superstructure  in  two  stories,  the  first  about  .seven 
and  the  second  about  eight  feet  high.  See  illustrations,  pages 
210  and  235.  There  was  abundant  stucco  ornamentation  over 
the  exterior,  and  on  each  side  of  the  entrance  was  one  of  the 
figures  referred  to  in  the  last  chapter. 


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Hiotogpaphic 
Sciences 
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23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14580 

(716)  872-4503 


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1   I 


246 


The   North-Americans  of  Ycstcrthi)- 


The  mortar  used  is  said  to  have  been  a  cement  made  of  one 
part  shiked  lime  to  two  parts  of  zahLal).  Tliis  was  used  by  all  'Jie 
ancient  Mayas  and  is  used  still  in  that  country.  It  is,  howe\er, 
doubtful  if  slaked  lime  was  known  to  the  ancients.  Tliere  is  no 
evidence  of  it.  At  Mitla  is  yet  another  type  of  house  ascribed 
to  the  /apotecs.'  It  is  in  the  Mexican  vState  of  Oaxaca.  The 
human  figures  and  animal  carvings  and  forms  seen  in  the  Yuca- 
tan ruins  are  absent.  The  rooms  are  the  same,  long  and  narrow, 
with  no  op>;nings  except  the  doors.  One  of  the  most  uinisual 
features  is  a  great  hall  12  by  121  feet,  with  six  round  stone 
colunnis  standing  at  intervals  of  about  fifteen  feet  down  the  mid- 
dle. vSee  illustrations,  pages  9  and  209.  These  average  about 
twelve  feet  high  and  nine  feet  in  circumference.  The  walls 
are  forty-eight  inches  thick,  oi  roughly  broken  stones  laid  in 
courses  in  plenty  of  adobe  mortar,  the  outer  parts  of  all  the  build- 
ings being  faced  by  slabs  of  stone  containing  the  ornamentation, 
which  is  wholly  geometrical.  Some  adobe  brick  walls  are  forty- 
six  inches  thick.  The  columns  are  out  of  the  common  because 
the}'  are  single  stones,  but  built  up  piers  are  often  used  in  Pueblo 
architecture,  and  the  Xorth-we.st  coast  Amerinds  use  the  column 
in  wood  very  frequently  to  support  their  large  longitudinal  rafters. 
One  of  these  which  I  sketched  in  an  Ala.skan  house  at  Cape  Fox 
is  given  in  the  illustration,  page  162.  The  roofs  at  Mitla  were 
wooden  beams  covered  with  earth  and  stone  slabs.  See  illustra- 
tion, page  230.  There  are  other  ruins  all  through  Honduras  and 
Nicaragua  and  the  rest  of  Central  America.  »Squier  says  :  "  In 
Honduras,  as  al.so  in  San  vSalvador,  I  lieard  of  remains  and  monu- 
ments equ  il  to  those  of  Copan  in  extent  r.nd  interest." 

At  the  time  the  vSpaniards  came  into  Yucatan  the  Amerinds, 
according  to  Herrera,  were  dwelling  in  timl^er  huts  thatched  with 
grass  or  something  similar.  The  dense  unexplored  forests  of  the 
Yucatan  region  are  filled  with  ruins  which  have  never  lieen  seen 
by  white  men,  at  least  that  is  thesuppo.sition  of  archaeologists  like 
vSaville  and  Charnay.  The  Maya  house  was  divided,  according 
to  lyanda,  from  side  to  .side  by  a  wall  with  doors,  the  back  part 
being  sleeping  quarters.  The  front  portion  was  whitewashed  or 
painted  in  designs  and  was  open   the  whole  length,   with   low 

'  Viollet-le-Duc  thinks  these  buihliiij^s  and  the  IMnya  ones  originated  in 
wooden  strnctnres.  For  details  of  construction,  see  Bandeher's  Archceo- 
hi^ical  Tour  in  jlfexico. 


m 


Il 


Shelters,   Dwellins^^s,   and  Architecture  247 

sheltering  eaves.  In  the  rear  there  was  a  doorway  leading  from 
that  part.  A  lengthwise  division  into  two  main  parts  was  a  char- 
acteristic of  almost  all  the  Maya  buildings  now  found  in  ruins. 
The  structures  were  generallv  wide  and  .shallow,  and  subdivided 
into  a  great  many  rooms.  It  is  more  in  the  ornamentation  of  the 
buildings  and  the  stone  roofs  than  in  anything  else  that  tliey  differ 
from  structures  farther  north.  The  interior  masoiny  is  frequently  a 
rubble,  with  the  dressed  and  carved  stones  o'.i  the  out.side  as  a  fac- 
ing. Bandelier  thinks  that  some  of  the  stone  walls  in  New  Mexico 
are  quite  as  well  constructed  as  .some  in  Mexico  proper,  lint  hov,-- 
ever  this  may  be,  there  is  nothing  north  of  the  City  of  ^lexico  that 
compares  in  architectural  excellence  with  the  Yucatan  structures, 
albeit  in  some  respects  there  is  a. strong  resemblance  between  the  lat- 
ter in  plan  and  conception,  and  the  Pecos  and  other  northern  ruins. 

The  communal  principle  of  living  had  much  to  do  almost  everj-- 
M-here  with  the  .size  and  character  of  the  Amerind  houses.  Situa- 
tion was  determined  by  expedience  and  necessity  ;  material  of 
construction  by  environment.  Throughout  the  continent  the 
Amerind  was  a  village  dweller,  and  except  in  tlie  Far  North  and 
on  the  northern  Californian  and  North-west  coasts  he  was  gen- 
erally a  tiller  of  the  soil,  growing,  often  in  large  quantities,  maize, 
beans,  .squa.shes,  cotton,  and  some  other  products  according  to 
locality.  His  large  conununal  buildings  were  in  part  fortres.ses  to 
protect  the  families  against  marauding  Amerinds  of  a  less  prosper- 
ous and  cultivated  type,  and  against  the  occupants  of  other  towns, 
for  in  general  it  may  be  said  that  there  was  little  political  cohesion 
in  the  various  tribes,  though  the  Aztecs  and  Iroquois  are  examples 
of  exceptions  that  arose  from  time  to  time. 

There  is  nothing  in  any  of  the  remains,  so  far  developed,  that 
indicates  foreign  influence,  prior  to  the  Discovery.  ICvery  archi- 
tectural work  on  the  continent  is  purely  Amerindian  or  modified 
by  contact  with  other  races  subsequent  to  1492. 


i  ^ 


»   I 


i 


1' 


:* 


M 


U.  S.  Bu.  Eth. 


ESKIMO    HORN    DH'l'l.k 


U.  S.  I!ii.  Kth 


1^.  4 


CHAPTER  IX 


?    !' 


I*  ii  I 


ij 


I    !    i 


y-i 


( 


ii 


WEAPONS,    ARMOUR,    I.MPLlvMKXTS,    AND   TRAXSPORTATIOX 

THE  Amerinds  were  practically  all  in  the  so-called  Stone  Age  of 
culture  ;  that  is,  the\'  were  unacquainted  with  the  co))i))h'»i 
use  of  metals.  vSonie  tribes  worked  silver,  gold,  and  copper, 
to  a  limited  extent  and  in  an  ornamental  waj',  and  a  high  authority 
asserts  that  the  Eskimo  have  known  iron  for  nine  hundred  years. 
Those  Eskimo  who  came  in  contact  with  the  Northmen  on  the 
North-east  coasts  very  likely  saw  specimens  of  manufactured  iron. 


U.  S.  I!u.  Kth. 

^\'a^  Arrow 


War  Arri>\v 


Hunting  Arrow 


MODKKX    IKON    AKKciW-lll'.ADS    OK    TKI;    0^[AHAS 

and  possessed  some,  nearly  a  thousand  years  ago,  Init  it  was  a 
bare  acquaintance,  and  this  and  the  limited  working  of  the  other 
metals  do  not  affect  the  general  statement  that  the  Amerinds  were 
practically  a  Stone- Age  people.  Even  the  Maya,  with  all  their 
varied  skill  and  knowledge  superior  to  any  other  Amerinds,  still 
used  stone  tools  for  carving  in  stone.  The>'  had  no  way  of  suff- 
ciently  hardening  the  metals  they  could  secure  and  their  stone 

248 


31  .  I 


Weapons,   Armour,    Implements,    Transp(,rtati,,n    240 

tools  were  far  more  serviceable.  So  llie  tools,  weapons,  and  i,u- 
pe.nents  throuohout  the  coniinenL  were  chieily  wood,  bone  and 
stone,  with  a  few  exceptions  in  Mexico,  Central  America,  and  the 
M:ssiss,pp:  valley.  In  the  last  region  there  was  some  workim- 
of  copper  obtained  from  the  rich  deposits  o'.  native  metal  m 
northern  Michigan.'  bnt  the  main  thing  thev  could  do  with  it  was 
o  beat  and  grind  it  into  shape  with  stones.  Arrow-heads  spear- 
heads, chisels,  and  knife-blades  of  copper  have  been  tonnd  i,!  the 
Mississippi  and  Atlantic  regions,  bnt  there  is  no  certaintN-  that  all 


f 


I 


V.  s.  ];ii.  Eth. 


Forms  (i|-    i  m,  udw 


Of  them  were  made  by  the  Amerinds.^  The  Spaniards  and  other 
Europeans  were  .speedily  engaged  in  a  con.siderable  traffic  with  the 
Amerinds  in  which  copper  was  an  important  medium  of  exchange 

Large  quantities  were  therefore  early  brought  in  to  the  conntrv  from 
luirope,  and  we  do  not  always  know  in  what  form.  It  is  certain 
that  the  traders  would  try  to  give  it  the  most  attractive  shape 
and  If  arrow-heads  were  found  to  be  good,  it  would  not  take  Ion- 
to  manufacture  them.  This  is  not  to  say  that  the  Amerind  could 
not  have  made  the  implements  or  copper  articles  thus  fu-  foun.l 
but  only  to  question  whether  he  did  make  all  of  them 

The  chief  weapon  of  all  Amerinds  was  the  bow  and  arrow  ' 
The  bow  was  made  in  a  number  of  ways  and  of  various  kinds  of 
wood,  and  of  horn,  reinforced  as  a  rule  by  a  backing  of  sinew 
Hie  arrow-shaft  was  nio.st  frequently  of  service-i)errv'wood  when 
U  could  be  had.  and  also  of  reed  with  a  tip  of  some  solid  wood 
The  heads  were  of  chipped  stone,  or  bone,  or  latterly  of  bottle- 
'  I'or  ininiiif,'  operations  see  Chap.  X. 

/^.wl^.^'^'^^  ^''''  arrow-heads  and  pipes  u.ade  of  copper.     See  .Vhhclfs 
/  null  live  Iiiditstiy. 

=  The  Amerind  muscles  that  ca.ne  into  ph^v  i„  how  shooting,  were  sc. 
highly  developed  that  a  white  man  untrained  couhl  not  half  pull  a  hou-  thai 
a  generally  weaker  Amerind  could  pull  with  ea^e 


4 

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2^i) 


The   Xorlli-AiiuM-icans  of  V(_'st(jrtlay 


I',    '( 


mV  •  I 


glass,  or  often,  for  small-bird  shooting,  without  any  head  whatever. 

A  few  heads  were  of  copper,  and  in  niodern  tinius  houp  iron  is 

Uhcd.  Amongst  all  llic  Amerind 
bows  that  I  have  ever  seen,  one  made 
from  the  horns  of  a  mountain  jheep, 
with  a  portion  of  the  skull  as  the 
central  part,  was  the  finest  and  most 
graceful.  It  was  exactly  the  .shai)ij 
(jf  the  typical  bow  wielded  by  the 
litlle  god  Cupid,  and  I  have  always 
regretted  that  I  did  not  purchase  it 
at  the  time,  for  I  liave  never  seen  one 
since.     I  saw  it  in  southern  Utah  in 

i«75-' 

I  have  sometimes  thought  that  the 

bow  and  arrow  were  a  development 
from  the  primitive  fire-drill,  through 
the  bow-drill  and  spear.  Some  day  by 
accident  or  de.sign  perhaps  the  drill 
stick  sprung  from  the  tightened  string, 
the  idea  of  substituting  the  spear  for 
the  drill  stick  was  suggested,  and  the 
greatest  invention  in  its  effect  on  hu- 
manity man  has  yet  seen  was  born. 

There  are  three  or  four  forms  of 
fire-drill,  but  the  palm-drill  —  that  is, 
the  kind  that  was  rotated  between  the 
palms  of  the  hands  —  wcy.  the  earliest, 
most  widespread,  and  most  compact 
and  portable  of  all.     It  consisted  of  a 

l.ower  part  of  shaft  of  greascwood     g|j^(-^  ^f   ^yogd,   Or    rCCd    witll  a  picCe   of 

a!)i>iit  5  in.  long  and  ''3  in.  diameter.  ,        ,  . 

Hearth  of  cc,h,r  (junipen.   Upper   souie  harder  wood  attached  to  It  ;  or, 
part  of  drill  shaft  is  omitted.  wlicrc   the   hard   wood   was  not  long 

enough,  it  was  spliced  on  to  another  piece  of  wood.  The  illus- 
tration above  shows  a  drill  and  hearth  I  obtained  from  the 
Pai  Utes  of  Arizona  in  1875.     These  Amerinds  were  u.^ing  such 

'  Hoffman  {Fourteenth  Aun.  Rc(>t.  Bti.  Eth.,  p.  281)  describes  similar 
bows  found  in  Arizona  and  Nevada,  three  feet  long,  but  made  of  wood  in  a 
composite  vvav. 


I'AI    LTE    I'ALM-DRH.I, 
Drawn  by  the  author  from  a  specimen 
obtained  by  him   in  Arizona,    1875. 


m 


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A 


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U.  S.  X.,t.  Ml,. 

THE    I'Al.M-|.|;ll,l.  (lIKK-MAKl.Nd) 


U.  S.  X.it.  .Mil. 

I'll:    ITMr-l.Kn.l,    (llRI-.-MAKINc; 


KSKIMo    >|-Kl\(;-iJK|i.|  '  (, 

(I'(jk  iiki -makim;  with  .moi-iiii'ikce) 


U.  S.  Hii.  Kth. 

I'UEIiLO    PUMI'-DKILL.        •/. 
{for    r.OKINC) 


nUII.I.-l'OI.NT    OF    CHIPI'KIJ    FLINT 


^    ) 


..* 


' 

f 

1 

,  1 

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(        '; 

i 

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1 

251 


;.;>, 

J 

,''    i 

1. 

i 

1  , 

i 

\1A 

2^2 


The   Xorth-iVnicricans  of  Yesterday 


»i  I  ■■ 


drills  for  firc-making  at  that  lime.  The  other  portion  of  the  ap- 
paratus, the  hearth,  is  made  of  ced:ir,  or  any  soft  and  suitable 
wood.  It  has  cavities  cut  into  it  to  receive  the  rounded,  blunt 
end  of  the  shaft,  and  on  the  sides  of  these  cavities  a  little  notch  is 
cut  to  allow  the  air  to  get  at  the  superheated  wood  dust  and  to 
permit  the  du.st  to  be  quickly  thrust  into  the  tinder  which  is 
placed  beside  and  beneath  the  hearth.  This  hearth,  which  is  an 
inch  or  so  in  width  and  aliout  a  quarter  of  an  inch  thick,  is  held 
securely  down  by  the  foot  or  knee,  and  the  drill  stick  rapidly  re- 
volved back  and  forth  in  an  upright  position,  with  the  lower  end 
in  one  of  the  cavities.  The  revolving  motion  is  secured  by  the 
pain's  of  the  hands,  which  are  allowed  to  slide  down  the  shaft  to 
gain  downward  pressure,  each  time  being  1/rought  quickly  l)ack 
to  the  top  for  a  repetition  of  the  motion,  so  that  it  is  practic  dly 
continuous.  A  pinch  of  sand  is  sometimes  added  to  increase  the 
friction  and  create  dust  more  .speedily.  The  superheated  dust,  or 
spark,  is  skilfully  flung  into  the  tinder  of  moss  or  rubbed-up  bark 
and  a  few  puffs  of  breath  bring  a  flame.  All  the  materials  are 
kept  rery  dry,  and  an  expert  will  secure  a  fire  in  a  few  seconds 
under  favourable  comlitions.'  This  was  the  connnon  form  of  fire- 
drill  throughout  the  continent.  The  "  nac-firc''  of  the  Aztecs,'^ 
produced  at  the  termination  of  their  fifty-two-year  cycle,  when  all 
fires  were  permitted  to  die  out,  was  obtained  with  a  fire-drill  simi- 
lar to  the  one  described.  Liven  when  a  tribe  had  better  means  of 
obtaining  fire,  it  would  preserve  the  primitive  method  in  its  re- 
ligious ceremonies.  Before  the  invention  of  the  fire-drill  it  was 
of  the  greatest  importance  to  guud  and  preserve  the  fire  thtit  had 
perhaps  been  procured  from  a  great  distance  or  from  some  forest 
conflagration  which  had  ])assed  away.  Hence  it  assumed  a  sacred 
character,  and  those  who  were  entrusted  with  its  preservation  were 
high  priests.  Eternal  fires,  or  undying  fires,  were  the  residt  at 
first  of  the  necessity  of  preserving  fire,  and  later,  when  the  friction- 
drill  was  discovered,  those  who  possessed  the  knowledge  of  it  were 
correspondingly  endowed  with  power  over  the  remainder. 

After  the  palm-drill  conies  the  string-drill,  wherein  the  drill  is 

'  Hou.uh  says  be  lias  often  made  fire  in  tliirty  seconds  with  the  p.!lin- 
drill  and  in  five  seconds  with  the  bow-drill. — National  Museum  Report, 
iS88,  p.  531- 

'^  See  chapter  on  Customs  for  a  quotation  from  Prescott  describin.t? 
the  festival  of  the  new-fire. 


Muutlipiete 


U.  S.  Nat.  Mu. 


\     I 

Ml 


!    ; 
.'I 


Drill 


SKT    OF    riRi;-MAKING    TOOLS,    HRISTOI,    HAY    ESKIMO,    ALASKA 
Showing  stepped  hearth.     Mouthpiece  is  set  with  a  socket-bearing  of  black  stone 


1:.^ 


254  '^  ^^<'   North-Americans  of  Wjstcrday 


I    ! 


I  •' 


operated  by  means  of  a  cord  twisted  about  it,  the  ends  l)eiui^ 
pulled  back  and  forth,  and  the  top  of  the  stick  l)eini^  held  firm  by 
insertion  in  a  socket,  the  latter  being  grasped  in  one  hand  or. 
when  tliere  was  only  one  operator,  taken  in  the  mouth.  The  old 
Ivskimo  drill  is  of  this  description,  produced  probably  because  the 
surroundings  compelled  swifter  and  harder  revolutions  of  the  stick 

to  obtain  the  desired  results.  A  further 
development  is  the  bow-drill,  used  by  the 
Ivskimoand  others,  where  instead  of  pulling 
the  ends  of  the  string  a  bent  piece  of  wood, 

or  bow,  is  attached 
to  them,  the  move- 
ment of  which  back 
and    forth    rotates 
the  stick.      This  is 
used  with  a  mouth- 
piece for  a  socket. 
Another  form,  but 
one  seldom  used  for 
fire-getting,  is  the 
pump-drill,    where 
the  stick  coiniected 
with  the  ends  of  the  cord  runs  across  the  drill 
stock,    and    sometimes    has    the    stock    passing 
through  it,  the  string  being  so  adjusted  around 
the   stock   that   an   up-and-down   motion  of  the 
crossbar    imparts    a    rotary,  reciprocating  move- 
ment to  the  stock.     I'his  is  the  form  used  by  the 
Pueblos  for  stone  drilling,  etc'     The  fire-drill  en- 
tered into  the  religious  ceremonies  of  most  tribes, 
and,  conventionalised  in  the  so-called  cross  of  the 
Palenque  tablet,  which  is  a  development,  accord- 
ing to  Bandelier,  of  the  fire-drill  through  ornamentation,  it  puzzled 
the  Europeans,  causing  them  for  a  time  to  imagine  that  Christ- 
ianity had  preceded  Columbus  to  the  New  World. 

To  return  to  the  bow  again,  the  length  of  it  varies  in  different 

localities.     In  a  densely  wooded  country,  a  long  bow  would  often 

be  in  the  way,  and  this  and  other  reasons  would  make  it  shorter. 

The  average  length  is  about  forty  inches.     The  string  is  made  of 

'  The  Iroquois  rigged  large  pump-drills  out  of  saplings. 


U,  S.  Rii.  Kth. 


'■  ii    \ 


;d 


;r. 


■      ■        r  *'  '- .  *     i»-,  '  *    "i.  '  !*     '■  ■    ^  .^^ 


-  V 


.>« 


;-'^i 


W'Hr^^  ..,* .v-;^.-.^. -, 

t-i-tM-- Hl^w*;'  «*<-3«r,*.y  !t^;   »>..,    '  --  aNrM'*s4i|R«(.|r^.»*i^.-^':#>#*^^ 


ife^^^^-^.,. 


U.S.  Nut.  Mil. 


MiiDKKN    ROD    AKMOTR    OF    THK    KI.AMA  11 1  >,    ol'.  l-i ',( )N 


Made  up  of  44  dv.il  mils  if  piiii;  woml.  The  cord  is  (if  iKilivc  hemp  and  cords  iii.kIc  of  sls.d,  the  hitter  proli.ihK 
derived  from  npis  of  white  make.  Cords  are  coloured  red  and  yellow.  I'ouiul  w  ith  liiickskiii  painted  red  ; 
shoulder-straps  of  liuckskin  ;  tying  straps  at  the  sides.     Width,  38  in.  ;  height,  zi  in. 


U.  S.  Nat.  Mu. 


HUPA   ROD   ARMOUR,    CALIFORNIA 


"Made  of  118  peeled  rods,  woven  together  with  native  twine,  bound  with  buckskin  on  upper  and  lower  edges  and 
arm-holes.  Shoulder-strap?  of  Feather;  six  horizontal  stripes  of  red  cord  cross  the  front.  The  red  lines 
denote  the  number  of  enemies  slain  or  captives  taken  ;  also  the  rank  of  the  wearer.  This  class  of  armour  was 
in  common  use  among  the  Natanos  and  Kennucks  before  the  introduction  of  firearms ;  but  it  is  now  obso- 
lete, nearly."    Width,  41  in. ;  height,  21  in. 

255 


■Iff 


■\ 


I 


ii 


w 


I,! 


)  Ml 


I 'A 


2',6 


Tlu!   Xorth-Aiiu-'ricaiis  of  Vcstrrthi}" 


't 


siiiL'W,  wvll  Iwisted  and,  at  the  ends,  hraidud.  Arrows  are  of  dif- 
llreiil  kinds  in  llu  same  tribe  :  some  blunt  or  witli  wood  points 
sharpened  lor  bird  slu)(jlin<;,  or  for  other  small  animals  ;  arrows 
adapted  for  deer  ;  for  larj^e  fowl  ;  and  (jlhers  still  for  heavy  game 
like  bison  or  bear.  The  head  of  the  game  arrow  was  set  in  the 
plane  of  the  string  —  that  is,  the  notch  was  (piile  or  nearlj'  in  line 
with  the  liead,  and,  when  adjusted  to  the  bowstring,  stood  at  a 
slight  angle,  the  bow  alwri\s  being  held  diagonally  across  the 
shooter's  body.  The  head  would  thus  strike  between  an  animal's 
ribs.  War  arrows,  on  the  other  hand,  had  their  notches  so  placed 
that  the  head  of  the  arrow  went  from  thu  bow  in  a  liori/ontrd  po- 
sition, because  the  ribs  of  a  man  lie  that  way.'  It  will  l)e  seen 
that  the  head  was  not  at  right  angles  to  the  notch,  for  in  that  case 
it  woulil  not  have  been  projected  horizontally.  The  adjustment 
of  the  notch  lu  jiroduce  the  ilesired  position  would  always  be  regu- 
lated by  the  habit  of  holding  the  bow.  »Since  the  rifle  came  into 
use,  little  attention  probably  h  is  l)t.'en  given  to  this  point.  The 
firrow-shaft  is  round,  about  a  (piarter  inch  in  diameter,  and  from 
twenty  to  thirt}'  iiiclK-^  long,  though  some  are  longer.''  Long 
ones  are  usually  made  of  reed  with  a  hardwood  tip,  upon  which 
tile  head  is  mounted ;  this,  as  noted  above,  now  being  of  hoop  iron. 
Stone  heads  formerly  were  the  chief  method  of  tipping  the  shaft. 
In  1S75  I  purchased  a  number  of  these  from  an  old  arrow-maker 
of  the  Pai  I'te  tribe.  The  other  end  of  the  shaft  is  feathered. 
Tliis  is  done  by  attaching  split  feathers  to  it  with  the  web  cut 
narrow,  for  the  purpose  of  giving  it  guidance.  This  feathering  is 
a  distinguishing  feature,  and  an  expert  can  place  the  maker  of  an 
arrow  by  the  style  of  feathering.  Feathers  of  birds  of  prey  are 
almost  invariably  employed.  The  number  is  sometimes  two,  but 
generally  three.  They  are  attached  bj'  strands  of  moist  sinew 
wound  around  the  ends  and  when  the  sinew  is  dry  it  becomes  a 
smooth  firm  band.  Three  zigzag  grooves  are  scratched  down 
the  shaft,  some  say  not,  as  popularly  believed,  for  the  purpose  of 
aiding  the  flow  of  blood,  but  because  this  is  the  lightning  symbol, 
and  is  intended  to  endow  the  arrow  with  speed  and  certainty.  But 
Dorsey  says  the  Omahas  told  him  their  object  was  to  increase  flow 
of  blood  from  the  wound.     Poisoned  arrows  were  made  by  dipping 

'  Hoffman  denies  this,  Fourteenth  Ann.  Rept.  Bu.  Eth.,  p.  279. 
'•'  For  modem  arrow-making  among  the  Menominee,  see  Fourteenth 
Ami.  Rept.  Bu.  Etfi.,  p.  275  et  seq. 


Weapons,   Armour,   ImpicinciUs,  Traiisportaiion    257 


P 


the  points  into  rotting  liver  or  rattlesnake  venom,  etc.  These 
were  used  for  war.  The  arrow-shaft  when  first  ni  ule  is  by  no 
means  always  .straight,  but  the  Ainerinil  invented  a  piece  of  horn 
or  stone  with  perforations  Ihroui^h  whicli  the  heated  shaft  is 
drawn  till  it  is  straight.  vSce  illustration  at  head  of  this  chapter. 
Quivers  are  all  very  similar  in  plan  also,  u.sually  compri.sing  a 
case  for  the  bow,  one  for  the  arrows,  and  in  .some  tribes  a  pouch 
containing  arrow-making  tools.  The  Eskimo  make  their  (juivers 
of  .sealskin,  other  tribes  use  cat,  deer,  panther,  otter,  etc.     The 


U.  S.  Nat.  Mm. 

KSKIMO    I'l.ATE    ARMOUR,   niOMKDE    ISLAND,    liKKINC    SIKAIT 

"  Made  of  five  imbricatiiif;  rows  of  pl.ites  of  w.ilnis  ivory  of  iiiie(|ual  size  in  the  difftreiit  rows, 
pierced  with  from  6  to  13  holes,  lashed  with  sealskin  th'jngs."  164  plates  in  all.  In  form, 
lashing  and  adjustment  of  plates  it  is  identical  with  certain  types  of  Japanese  armour.  Width, 
extendfd,  49  in.  ;  lieight,  24  in. 


i  " 


1* 
1. 


'jiar 


'•Tf) 


til 


■I 


spear  doubtless  preceded  the  bow  and  arrow.  It  is  little  used  Ijy 
the  interior  tribes,  but  in  the  form  of  the  harpoon,  as  well  as  the 
regular  spear  form,  is  common  among  the  liskimo  and  other  coast 
Amerinds.' 

In  armour,  the  Amerind  was  inventive,  as  in  everything  else, 
and  he  devised  some  excellent  means  for  defence  for  the  body  ^; 

'  It  is  said  that  a  blow-gun  was  also  used  by  some  North  American 

tribes.     "  Many  of  the  Siouan  Indians  use  the  lance,  javelin,  or  spear." — 

McGee,  Fifteenth  Ann.  Kept.  Bu.  Eth.,  p.  171. 

"  "  Primitive  American  Armour,"  Report  of  National  Museum,  1893. 
17 


,11 


\% 


\  t 


258  The  North-Americans  of  Ycsti^rday 

and  borrowed  ore  form,  according?  to  IIousli.  from  Asia.  His 
shields  were  made  of  wood,  basketrj-,  cotton,  and  rawhide,  and 
were  usually  circular.  The  connnonest  material  was  rawhide, 
which  was  often  contracted  and  hardened  by  fire,  and  then  covered 
with  i.iickskin.     It  was  variously  ornamented,  and  tlie  rlecoration 


ij  ;m 


I*  I 


U.  S.  Nut.  Mu. 

TI.INKIT    SKIN    ARMOrR,   ALASKA 

"  Made  of  tanned  hide ;  two  thicknesses ;  sewed  along  the  upper  edge.  The  '  swallow-t.iil' 
portion  is  reinforced  with  two  e.\tra  thicl;nesses,  making  four  in  all.  The  coat  is  very  heavy 
The  sewing  is  done  with  sinew.     Width,  25  in.  ;  height,  33  in." 

was  the  outcome  of  many  a  religious  ceremony  conducted  accord- 
ing to  long-established  rules.  It  was  "  invariably  held  on  the  left 
arm,  usually  by  a  simple  thong  of  buckskin  attached  to  the  in- 
terior." Many  shields  have  two  covers,  each  held  on  by  a  gather- 
ing string.  In  New  Mexico  and  Mexico  some  tribes  used  one 
that  could  be  shut  up  like  a  fan,  and  the  Navajos  had  one  that 
was  made  of  cedar  rods  tied  together  with  cords. 


■:^'H^ 


Weapons,   Armour,    Imi)l(Mncnts,   Transportation    259 


ft 


' 


The  body  armour  was  made  of  rows  of  overlappiiii?  plates, 
lashed  tos^^ether,  of  slats,  of  rods,  of  skins,  and  of  cotton  padded. 
The  plate  armour  is  the  one  that  was  borrowed  from   Asia  ;   a 


U.  S.  Nat.  Mil. 

rRKIIISTOKIC    ALKiniAN    IU)I)    ARMOUR 
"  The  small  rods  composing  it  arc  abnut   '^  in.  diameter,  painted   red.     Width,  40  in.  ;  height, 

25  in.     Position  as  on  the  body.     It  w.is  fastened  behind  with  two  loops  of  sinew,  into  which 

wooden  bnttons  were  inserted  " 

migration  apparently  across  Bering  Strait.  The  cotton-padded 
armour  was  confined  to  the  Amerinds  of  Mexico  and  Central 
America,  but  the  other  varieties  were  distributed  over  the  whole 


I  . 


'I 


I 

iili* 


\n 


I 


I  \i< 


$ 


r 


260  The  North- Americans  of  Yesterday 

area.  In  the  plate  armour,  "  small,  flat,  oblong  plates  of  ivory 
or  bone  pierced  near  the  edges  with  from  four  to  six  or  more 
holes,"  were  lashed  in  series  with  rawhide  thongs.  The  coat, 
made  in  this  waj-  of  a  number  of  rows,  was  tied  at  the  back  with 
thongs,  or  had  a  toggle  fastening.  Some  of  these  plates  in  iron 
and  in  copper  have  been  dug  up  at  Cape  Prince  of  Wales  and  on 
St.  Lawrence  Island.  This  armour  is  very  .similar  to  that  of  the 
Japanese,  and  if  it  was  wholly  an  imported  idea,  it  was  probably 
a  comparatively  recent  one.  The  Tlinkits  used  the  slat  armour 
and  also  a  rod  armour,  the  former  being  made  of  very  hard  wood 
fastened  with  cords  of  sinew.  A  Tlinkit  greave  has  also  been 
found  among  the  collections  in  the  National  Museum,  so  that  it  is 
probable  that  the  North-west  coast  Amerinds  protected  arms  and 
legs  as  well  as  body.  The  Iroquois  are  also  reported  to  have 
used  armour  of  rods  both  on  their  limbs  and  their  vital  parts. 
The  rod  armour  was  formed  by  sewing  or  lacing  together  with 
native  twine  a  series  of  straight  slender  rods  sufficient  to  pass 
around  the  body  and  tie  in  front,  with  places  for  the  arms,  and 
straps  over  the  shoulders.  The  skin  armour  was  simply  a  sort  of 
heavy,  s\''eveless  shirt  made  of  thick  hide,  doubled  and  reinforced 
and  otherwise  rendered  as  nearly  as  possible  proof  against  arrow 
or  spear.  In  Mexico,  where  the  padded  cotton  armour  was  chiefly 
worn,  a  breastplate  of  the  same  material  was  put  on  under  it.  The 
common  Aztec  soldiers  wore  armour  of"  reeds,  grass,  and  hides, 
or  'nequen  cloth,  coated  with  India-rubber."  '  Veytia  says  the 
"  private  soldiers  painted  the  upper  part  of  the  body  to  represent 
armour,  but  from  the  waist  to  the  thighs  they  wore  short  drawers, 
and  over  them  fastened  around  the  waist  a  kind  of  kilt  that  reached 
to  the  knee,  and  availed  them  somewhat  for  defence.  Across  the 
body  was  a  sash  made  of  feathers  that  passed  from  the  right 
shoulder  to  the  left  side  of  the  waist."  "  Many  Amerinds  also 
wore  in  conjunction  with  the  various  kinds  of  armour,  a  helmet, 
ranging  from  the  feathered  war-bonnet  to  a  heavy  mask-helmet  of 
wood.  The  Tarascos  of  Mexico,  according  to  Brinton,  specially  ex- 
celled in  defensive  armour,  which  *  'consisted  of  helmet,  body  pieces, 
and  greaves  for  the  legs  and  arms,  all  of  wood  covered  neatly 


I 


book. 


'  Bancroft,  H.  H.,  Native  Races,  vol.  ii.,  p.  407. 

"  Veytia,  Hist.  Ant.  Mej.,  torn,  i.,  pp.  289,  290;  see  also  page  134,  this 


i: 


CHIPPED  II. INT 


iiniTKD   FLINT  HI.UNT 

ARRow-iiKAi),  (;kor(;ia 


CHII'l'F.I)  I'LINT  IMl'I.lv 
MKNI',  TENNF.SSEIi 


SPrXIMEN   "cores,"  OR   lU.OCKS  O'     KI.IM' 

From  which  flakes  were  struck  off  for  making'  arrow-lieads,  etc. 

Usually  about  3  in.  lon^  in  the  l'.  S.,  b'.cloiit,"r  elsewhere 


I! 


U.  S.  Bu.  Eth. 
SPECIMEN   OF   CHIPPED    FLINT    DISCS,    (  AI.LKD 
"TURTLEHACK,"  MISSISSIPPI   VALLEY 


GROOVED    STONE    AXE,    TEN- 
NESSEE (ground) 


1    . 


I       11 


I 


261 


il 


11  ml 


%uf  , 


if] 


I 


^11! 


II 


262  The  North-Americans  of  Yesterday 

with  copper  or  gold  plates,  so  well  done  that  the  pieces  looked  as 
if  they  were  of  solid  metal."  '  The  Mayas  wore  cotton  armour 
similar  to  that  of  the  Mexicans,  and  bore  a  shield  also.  Breast- 
plates of  copper  have  been  found  in  the  Atlantic  region,  and  many 
of  the  Amerinds  there  used  body  armour  of  wood,  skins,  and  bark. 
Another  kind  of  defensive  armour,  though  its  qualities  were 
purely  imaginary,  is  the  so-called  "  ghost-shirt  "  (see  illustration, 
page  157)  made  of  cloth  or  skin,  and  resembling  the  ordinary  war- 
.shirt  of  the  Dakota.  This  shirt  came  into  notice  during  the  "Ghost 
Dance  "  '^  excitement  that  began  about  1890  and  lasted  for  six  or 
eight  years.  It  was  worn  by  all  men,  women,  and  children  who 
accepted  the  "  Ghost  "  doctrine,  either  as  an  outside  or  under  gar- 
ment, and  it  was  implicitly  believed  that  no  bullet  or  other  weapon 
could  penetrate  its  sacred  material.^  As  already  remarked  in 
another  chapter,  the  Amerinds  in  modern  times,  of  at  least  the 
United  States  region,  usually  went  into  battle  naked.  The  only 
defensive  armour  was,  as  Mooney  records,  "  his  protecting  medi- 
cine," which  consisted  of  "  a  feather,  a  tiny  bag  of  some  sacred 
powder,  the  claw  of  an  animal,  the  head  of  a  bird,  or  some  other 
small  object,  which  could  be  readily  twisted  into  his  hair  or  hid- 
den between  tht  covers  of  his  shield.  .  .  .  Its  virtue  depended 
entirely  on  the  ceremony  of  the  consecration,  and  not  on  size  or 
texture.  The  war-paint  had  the  same  magic  power  of  protection. 
.  The  so-called  '  war-shirt '  was  worn  chiefly  in  ceremonial 
dress  parades  and  only  rarely  on  the  warpath."  *  Just  when  the 
armour  which  protected  by  its  intrinsic  strength  was  abandoned 
for  the  protection  of  the  "  medicine  "  is  not,  so  far  as  I  am  aware, 
at  present  known.  At  one  time,  it  seems  quite  certain,  the  ma- 
terial protection  of  armour  was  almost  universal  over  the  whole 
of  North  America,  while  in  our  latter  day  no  one  ever  saw  an 
Amerind  fight  with  armour  on.  The  idea  of  going  into  battle 
nude  was  that  the  warrior's  movements  were  unincumbered,  while 
his"  medicine"  afforded  him  ample  protection.     A  Navajo  who 

'  Briuton,  T/ie  American  Race,  p.  138. 

-"The  Ghost-Dance  Religion,"  by  James  Moouey,  Fourteenth  Ann. 
Rcpt.  Bii.  Eth.  :  see  also  Chap.  VI.,  this  book. 

'  The  Utah  Mormons  wear  an  undergarment  supposed  to  have  such 
resistance.    The  idea  may  have  come  from  them, 

^ James  Mooney,  "The  Ghost-Dance  Religion,"  fourteenth  Ann.  Rept. 
Bu.  Eth.,  p.  790. 


¥  ; 


11 


1 


II 


Weapons,   Armour,    Implements,   Transportation    263 

posed  for  ine  for  a  picture  in  Arizona  described  the  Navajo  maimer 
of  going  to  battle,  but  never  mentioned  armour,  or  any  kind  of 
protection.  He  said  they  always  went  naked,  with  even  their  hair 
untied  from  its  customary  knot  and  falling  loose  on  the  shoulders. 
Stone  arrow-  and  .spear-iieads  are  found  in  all  parts  of  the  con- 
tinent, but  they  are  almost  always  chipped,  seldom  ground. 
Maguire,  who  has  made  a  special  study  of  this  sul)ject,  declares 


On  examina- 


chipping  to  be  one  of  the  most  difficult  of  arts. 

tion,"  he  .says,  "  it  is  found  that  every 

rock  has  been  worked  in  the  best  and 

most    economical    method    which  its 

texture  admits."      The  usual  way  of 

making  arrow-heads  was  to  place  the 

bit  of  stone  previously  flaked  from  a 

nodule  or  fragment  and  brought  near 

the  shape  by  percussion,  on  the  palm 

of  the  left  hand,  which  is  protected  by 

a  glove  or  a  piece  of  buckskin,  and 

hold    it   there   by  the  fingers  of  that 

hand  while  the  right  brings  a  down 

pressure  to  bear  on  the  edges  by  the 

point   of  a   .slender   piece  of  horn  or 

bone.     The  chips  .spring  oft'  and  the 

operation  is  continued  till  the  de.sired 

shape  is  attained.    I  tried  this  method 

once  on  a  flake  of  chalcedony  I  had 

picked    up,    and  had  no  difficultv  in 

brnignig  it  to  an  arrow-head  shape     '"- t^'^^e ;  y,  tang ;  ^,  stem ; /^  base ; / 

^[agnire  has  made  a  great  many  sue-    "''''  '•  "''^''  "'' '"''  °^^'°""" 

cessfully.       Chisels,  axes,  and  mauls  were  made  the  .same  wa"  or 

were  ground  into  shape,  a  groove  being  made  in  the  axes  across 

the  sides  to  receive  a  split  stick  that  was  bound  on  for  a  handle. 

It  is  almost  unnece.s.sary  to  say,  perhaps,  that  there  never  could 

have  been  a  time  when  all  tribes  were  equally  proficient  in  the  art 

of  stone  working,  some  being  skilful  when  others  could   make 

nothing.' 

In  this  country  we  know  so  well  the  origin  of  the  stone 
implements  found  in  the  fields  that  we  smile  when  we  read  of 
people  in  Europe  treating  them  as  charms  and  talismans.    "When 

'  See  Preface  pages  iv.  and  v.,  and  also  the  last  chapter  of  this  book. 


U.  s.  Bu.  Eth. 

dia(;ram     explaining     terms 

TO    HE    USED     IN     DESCRniINc; 
STONE    WEAI'ONS 
a,  point;  /-,  edge;  c,  face;  i/,  bevel; 


h 


ii 

J' 

'     it 

■i  m 


(■;  I 


'm 


V       . 

\ 

A 

i 

f 

'1 

264  The   North- Americans  of  Yesterday 

kept  ill  a  iiouse  they  protect  it  from  lightning  ;  the  water  in  which 
a  celt  has  been  boiled  is  a  remedy  against  rheumatism  ;  and  sick 
cattle  are  cured  by  drinking  water  in  which  a  celt  has  been 
placed."     The  An;erinds  frequently  treat  them  as  medicine.' 

vSome  tools  were  produced  in  the  rough  at  various  sites,  or 
workshops,  located  at  the  quarries.  Those  in  Ohio  described  by 
Moorehead  are  probably  the  most  extensive  in  North  America, 
except  the  obsidian  mints  of  Hidalgo,  Mexico.  "  The  magnilnde 
of  the  deposit  is  such,"  he  says,  "  that  it  has  given  to  the  locality 
the  distinctive  name  of  Flint  Ridge."  It  occupies  an  area  about 
eight  miles  long  l)y  three  wide.  Kere  thou.sands  of  cubic  yards 
of  earth  had  been  removed  to  reach  the  flint  beneath.  "Acre 
nfter  acre  has  l)een  so  thoroughly  excavated  that  scarcely  a  single 
foot  of  earth  and  stone  retains  its  original  position.  Hundreds  of 
wagon  loads  of  spalls  cover  the  ground."  One  of  the  pits  formed 
in  tliis  extremely  hard  stone  is  almost  a  hundred  feet  in  diameter 
and  more  than  eighteen  feet  deep.  The  method  employed  was  to 
build  a  fire  on  the  rock  and  then  throw  cold  water  on  the  .spot  till 
the  edge  was  broken  through  and  they  could  knock  flakes  off  of 
the  under  side  with  stone  hannners.  These  were  put  roughly  into 
shape  at  some  nearby  spot  and  then  perhaps  taken  far  away  to  be 
finished.  This  flint  formed  better  tools  than  that  found  on  the 
surface.''  Many  of  the  blades  were  often  piled  together  for  some 
unknown  reason.  In  sinking  a  well  in  a  corner  of  a  mound  in 
Illinois,  eighteen  large  flint  spades  were  found  a  few  feet  below 
the  surface,  closely  packed  together,  and  Moorehead  found  in  Ohio 
the  largest  "  cache  "  ever  brought  to  light.  This  formed  a  mound 
in  the  Hopewell  group,  six  feet  high  and  sixty  feet  in  diameter  at 
the  base,  and  contained  over  seven  thousand  flint  discs  about  the 
size  of  a  man's  hand.^ 

Some  .spear-points  found  are  more  than  a  foot  long  and  three 
inches  wide,  and  they  vary  from  this  down  to  what  may  be  termed 
large  arrow-heads.     Some  writers  claim  that  only  the  very  small - 

'  For  "Medicine  Arrows  of  the  Oregon  Indians,"  see  A.  S.  Gatschet, 
Journal  of  American  Folk-Lore,  1893. 

-  The  surface  flint  was  iu  bowlders  and  nodules. 

^  Kor  a  valuable  account  of  stone  implements  of  the  "  Potomac-Chesa- 
peake Tidewater  Province,"  see  paper  by  W.  H.  Holmes  in  Fifteenth  Ann. 
Rept.  Bn.  Eth. ;  also,  "The  Obsidian  Mines  of  Hidalgo,  Mexico,"  by  the 
same  author,  American  Anthropolo_q;ist,  vol.  ii..  No.  3,  N.  S. 


lir 


^    T 


Weapons,   Armour,   Implements,   Transportation    265 

est  heads  were  from  arrows,  but  this  would  vary  according  to  the 
tribe  and  the  game  liuuted,  just  as  we  liave  various  bores  to  our 
rifles.  The  stone  arrow-heads  of  the  Pai  Utes  twenty-five  years 
ago  were  small,  but  the  smallest  were  olieu  attached  to  the  longest 


U.  S.  N.it.  Miis. 

TI.INKIT    SI.AT-AND-ROI)    ARMOTR 


•Mrt.tM>«^  »V' 


ALASKA,    KRONT    VIKW 


"  Made  of  slats  and  rods  of  liard  wood,  i\  to  lA  in.  wide,./;,  in.  thii:..,  woven  tofjether  by  means 
of  fine  sinew  cord  so  as  to  admit  of  considerable  lle.xibility.  I'he  rods  and  slats  are  pired 
down  to  form  channels  for  the  reception  of  the  cord  weaving.  The  front  and  back  portions 
are  woven  separately.  The  neck  portions  are  made  up  of  short  slafs,  and  sewed  on  by  means 
of  a  strip  of  rawhide  i.\  in.  wide.  The  shonlder  supports  are  of  very  thick  elkhide,  the  one 
on  the  right  being  fastened  by  a  sl.ash  and  toggle.  Width  (jf  re.ir  portion,  24  in.;  height,  20 
in.  ;  width  of  front  portion,  18  in.  ;  height,  ig  in." 

arrows.  The  method  of  securing  the  head  to  the  .shaft  was  gen- 
erally similar  everywhere.  A  notch  being  cut  in  the  end  of  the 
stick,  a  small  quantity  o^  pitch,  asphaltum,  fish,  or  animal  glue, 


u 


.:  n 


i 

'•1 

J 

• 

i 

,     ' 

f ' 

"(■' 

'  M 

ij 

j 

ii  1 

I 


■,ll  • 


il- 


Jf- 

':;^ 


266  The   North- Americans  of  Yesterday 

or  cement,  was  placed  in  it,  warmed,  and  the  stone  head  squeezed 
into  position,  where  it  was  held  by  vvrai)pings  of  wet  sinew  thread 
whicli,  drying,  gave  il  a  firm  grip,  and  yet  when  moistened  by 
blood  would  allow  the  head  to  come  off  in  a  wound.  The  sinew 
was  variously  applied,  according  to  the  shape  of  the  head.  The 
triangular  head  was  held  on  by  passing  the  sinew  over  the  outer 


U.  S.  Bu.  Eth. 


APACHE  WAR-RONNF.T 


edges,  while  in  that  with  a  tang,  which  went  well  down  into  the 
shaft,  the  sinew  was  wound  round  and  round  the  shaft  and  over 
the  tang  at  the  same  time.  All  iron  heads  were  made  and 
mounted  in  the  latter  way.  In  the  leaf-shaped  head  with  deep 
notches,  the  wrapping  was  thoroughly  protected  by  the  depth  of 
the  notches  through  which  it  passed.  The  hafting  of  knives  was 
much  like  that  of  arrows  and  spears,  the  ordinary  stone  knife 
looking  much  like  a  spear-head,  and  probably  some  implc^^ents 


I! 


Weapons,   Armour,   Implements,   Transportation    267 

that  are  classed  as  spear-heads  were  ktiives  instead.  Many  were 
double-edged,  while  otliers  were  single.  vSonie  of  the  diminutive 
stone  implements  resenil)ling  arrow-heads  were  drill-heads  or  awls, 
and  also  heads  for  the  children's  play-arrows.'  There  is  also  a 
great  range  in  the  si/e  of  the  stone  axes  and  hannuers,  from  mere 
toys  to  those  .so  large  as  to  he  unwieldy.  Grooved  stone  axes  are 
found  all  over  the  continent,  except  in  the  mounds  of  Ohio.  Like 
other  stone  implements,  they  have  often  been  used  successively  iiy 
various  tril^es.  Those  used  to-day  by  the  Mokis  and  Zinlis  are 
some  they  have  found,  and  they  use  them  as  pounders  and  pestle.s. 
Many  of  the  axes  and  hammers  were  weapons  of  war. 

The  Amerinds  were  so  skilful  in  the  use  of  stone  tools  that  it 
is  related  that  in  the  early  days  of  the  West  they  would  skin  and 
dress  a  deer  with  a  stone  almost  as  quickly  as  a  while  man  could 
do  it  with  a  hunting-knife.  For  this  purpose  they  would  iMck  up 
a  thin  stone  and  with  a  few  sharp  blows  from  another  stone  bring 
it  to  a  cutting  edge.  Skins  were  dressed  by  scrapers  of  bone  or 
stone  to  remove  superfluous  flesh.  Pins  were  used  for  stretching 
them  on  the  ground. 

Among  the  Eskimo  the  harpoon  reached  a  high  state  of  per- 
fection, and  many  of  their  weapons  are  beautifully  made.  Bone, 
wood,  and  ivory  were  utilised  for  the  shaft,  and  a  specially  unique 
one  was  made  from  the  single  horn  of  the  narwhal,  »Spears  or 
lances  were  also  used  for  land  animals  before  they  had  firearms. 
They  are  now  pretty  well  supplied  with  the  latest  Winchester 
rifles.  The  harpoon  to-day  has  a  blade  of  thin  iron  or  steel  set  into 
an  ivory  or  bone  piece  which  has  a  hole  through  it  that  retains  in 
place  a  .sealskin  thong  to  which  a  line  is  attached.  The  bottom 
of  the  ivory  piece  has  a  socket  in  it  that  fits  on  to  the.  lance  shaft. 
When  the  harpoon  strikes  an  animal's  bodj'  the  head  of  it  then 
hangs  there  on  the  end  of  the  line,  coming  loose  from  the  shaft. 
There  are  various  forms  of  the  harpoon  for  different  animals,  and 
they  are  also  of  different  sizes  according  to  the  weight  and 
.strength  of  the  owner.  Formerly  the  blades  were  of  slate,  jade, 
or  flint.  Floats  of  sealskin  inflated  are  used  to  mark  the  place  of 
a  capture,  so  that  carcass  and  harpoon  can  be  easily  recovered. 
The  Eskimo  had  a  wolf-killer  that  was  ingenious.  A  stout  piece 
of  whalebone,  about  a  foot  long  and  half  an  inch  broad,  was  sharp- 

'  Tylor  declares  that  it  is  not  possible  to  distinguish  stone  weapons  from 
one  part  of  the  world  from  those  froni  any  other  part. 


Ui 


.  I 


111! 


t  (! 


p  I';! 


268 


The   North-Aincricans  of  Yesterday 


a  Z 


u. 

s. 

Hii. 

Eth. 

liSKIMO 

THROWING 

-liOARDS 

DARTS. 

}( 

FOR 


ejied  at  the  ends  and  then  frozen  in  a  piece  of  1)lul)l)er  in 
shape.  The  wolf  swallowing  it,  its  own  heat  released 
the  whalebone,  which  penetrated  the  sides  of  the 
stomach  and  killed  the  animal.  Ivach  tribe  had  a  varied 
assortment  of  implements  according  to 
locality  and  occupation,  and  it  would  not 
be  possible  even  to  mention  them  all  in 
a  single  chapter,  so  I  shall  give  only  the 
most  important.  The  bird  spear  of  the 
Eskimo  is  a  singular  weap- 
on. The  shaft  is  laid  on  a 
short  board  fifteen  to  eigh- 
teen inches  long,  which  has 
a  groove  to  receive  the 
shaft,  a  handle,  and  a  hole 
for  the  first  finger.  A  spike 
i:i  the  shaft  prevents  slip- 
ping, and  when  the  board  is 
hurled  forward  by  a  strong 
wrist  motion,  the  fingers  let 
go  the  shaft,  which,  leaving 
the  board,  flies  forward  to 
the  mark  with  considerable 
force.  These  spears  are 
also  used  by  the  Aleuts. 
The  Eskimo  also  u.se  for 
bird  killing  six  or  seven 
ivory  1)alls,  each  attached 
to  a  string  about  thirty 
inches  long,  the  ends  of  tlit- 
strings  being  supplied  with 
tufts  of  feathers.  The 
balls  spread  apart  in  flying 
through  the  air  and  cover  a 
wide  space.  For  war  all 
tribes  had  clubs  and  toma- 
hawks. The  Mexicans  used 
some  with  blades  of  obsidian  set  in  both  edges.  u.  s,  ku.  Kth. 

In  the  line  of  throwing  weapons  is  \\\^  piitchkolm  of  Eskimo  hird 
the  Mokis,  a  first  cousin  to  the  Australian  boomerang.  jioi.As.    7^ 


Weapons,   Armour,   Imj)l{'mcnts,  Transportation    2bLj 


\ 


It  is  cfTective  at  thirty  or  forty  yards,  but  does  not  return.     It  is  ;i 
flat  piece  of  curved  oak,  sawed  out  of  a  bend  of  a  limb,  about 


U.S.  liii.Kth. 


>icle 


Ute  stone  knife.     Handle  of 
wood  and  blade  set  in  a  dark  cement 


Eskimo  slate  knives. 
Handles  of  wood 


AMKRINDIAN    KNIVKS 

twenty  inches  long,  one  quarter  to  one  half  inch  thick,  and  two 
inches  wide,  with  a  small  handle  at  one  end.  It  is  thrown  with 
the  concave  side  forward. 

Nets  were  used  for  fishing  and  for  hunting.     The  Pai  Utes 
made  a  good  net  of  cord,  from  milkweed  or  sagebrush  bark, 


il' 


I 


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'i 


1  ! 


H  1 


!  fc 


>l;|  I 


»;.  I 


270 


'V\u'.   Xorth-Amcricans  of  N'cstcTday 


V.  .S.  Dii.  Kth. 

MuKi    riii<()\viN(;.Nri(K, 


Ilk   rriciiKoiit'.     '/,-. 


which   rabbits   from    a    large 


about  as  thick  as  tclejrraph  wire.     It  was  al)out  fifty  feet  loiij;  and 
three  feet  broad,  and  wns  ino|.ped  up  011  the  ground  on  a  number 

of  slender  rods, 
one   net    being 
joined    to    an- 
other' s  e  n  (1 
until    a     large 
semi-circle  was 
formed    into 
area   were   frightened    by   noises. 
Caught  in  the  meshes,  they  were  soon  despatched 
by   their   pursuers.   Many  Amerinds  used  nets  for 
fishing,  and  the  I'<skimo  make  a  fine, 
strong  one  of  sjalskin,  with  which  they 
catch  the  seal  itself  as  it  rushes  after 
prey    in    the  waters  near  some  beach 
where  the  net  is  stretched.     I  obtained 
one  that  is  fifty  feet  long  and  about 
six  feet  wide,  with  meshes  seven  inches 
scfuare. 

For  agricultural  operations  the  Am- 
erinds had  various  tools,  which,  though 
primitive,  answered  the  requirements. 
Of  the  plough,  or  atiything  approach- 
ing it,  they  had  no  knowledge,  the 
hoe  being  their  chief  implement.  This 
was  made  of  flint,  the  shoulder-blade 
of  a  deer  or  other  animal,  a  turtle  shell 
or  .some  similar  object.  Spades  were 
also  made,  often  of  wood,  and  in  the 
Mississippi  region  of  flint,  but  these 
are  seldom  found  in  the  Atlantic  divi- 
sion. In  the  Moki  country  corn  is 
still   planted   with   a  dibble,    a    stick  tt  c  n    r-  u 

•^  '        _  U.  S.  Bu.  Eth. 

sharpened  at  one  end  and  having  on  zusti  wooden 
oue  side  a  projection   to  receive  the    spade.    »/,„ 
foot,  which  pressed  it  into  the  soil.   ^ifnVs°now*'fr''om 
Having  cultivated  a  crop  of  maize,  the     ITg^hKadhlm 
grain    had    to  be    reduced    to    meal     °^'"* 
before    it  would    serve    for  winter  use,   and    for  this  purpose 


U.  S.  Bu.  Eth. 
rUEBLO  PLANT 
ING  STICK.    1/1 


i 


I 


!l 


. 


,^\ 


The    North-Americans  of  \'esterday 


mortars  of  wood  and  stone  were  used,  and  also  the  nictates,  or  meal- 
ing stones.  Other  substances  besides  corn  were  also  ground  in 
the  mortars,  as  seeds  of  grass,  dried  fish,  nuts,  grasshoppers, 
paint,  etc.  Sometimes  natural  depressions  in  rocks  were  utili.sed, 
but  oftener  small  bowlders  were  worked  into  the  desired  shape  and 
stone  pestles  were  wrought  out  to  accompanj-  them.  The  cavitj- 
was  of  various  depths.  Tho.se  tribes  growing  little  corn  made 
mortars  neither  large  nor  deep,  and  some,  like  the  Pai  lltes, 
growing  no  corn  at  all,  ground  their  grass  seeds  on  a  flat  stone, 
while  those  relying  chieflj-  oi.  corn  for  food,  like  the  Pueblos  and 
the  Mexicans,  in  the  early  days  made  large  oblong  mortars,  of 
hard  basalt  cut  out  to  a  drpili  of  six  or  eight  inches,  with  sides 
not  more  than  an  inch  and  a  half  or  two  inches  thick.  While 
these  were  really  mortars,  the  grain  was  not  pounded  in  them,  but 
crushed  and  rubbed  into  meal  by  means  of  another  stone,  flat  and 
oblong,  about  four  and  a  half  inches  wide  and  some  ten  inches 
long  and  an  inch  or  two  thick.  When  the  Pueblos  and  Mexicans 
settled  in  permanent  houses  they  departed  from  the  old  way  of 
hollowing  out  these  stones,  and  used  instead  a  flat  vSlab,  set  up  at 
an  angle  of  about  thirty-five  degrees  in  a  frame  of  slabs  of  stone,  or 
of  wood,  about  six  or  eight  inches  deep.  Several  of  these  slabs 
were  fixed  in  a  row,  usuall_v  three,  and  were  each  made  to  produce 
different  degrees  of  fineness  by  the  girls  behind  till  at  the  last 
stone,  or  metate,'  as  they  are  usually  called,  the  meal  was  of  the 
required  condition.  Seepage  194.  The  Eastern  Amerinds  usually 
pounded  their  corn  with  stone  pe.stles  in  wooden  mortars.  Some 
Western  tribes  used  the  same  method.  Diminutive  mortars  were 
used  for  preparing  face  paints,  while  others  were  children's  toys. 
The  so-called  cupped-stones  have  sometimes  been  supposed  to  be 
paint  mortars,  l)ut,  as  pointed  out  in  a  previous  chapter  (p.  66), 
they  may  have  been  mostly  used  for  roughing  and  shaping  the 
ends  of  fire-drills. 

The  Navajos  carve  moulds  for  their  silver  casting  in  sandstone, 
and  it  seems  likely  that  some  of  the  so-called  stone  tablets,  in- 
scribed with  figures  that  are  not  clearly  defined,  may  have  been 
nothing  more  than  moulds,  in  those  regions,  at  least,  where  it  is 
known  that  copper  or  other  metals  were  worked.' 

'  From  the  Aztec  :  metlatl. 

'^  While  the  Eastern  Amerinds  generally  seem  not  to  have  known  how  to 
melt  copper,  some  few  may  have  experimented  in  a  limited  way  with  it. 


Weapoi.s,   Armour,    Implements,   Transportation 


/  o 


The  spindle  and  loom,  which  belong  among  the  implements 
and  tools  enumerated  here,  have  already  been  described  in  con- 
nection with  weaving  and  they  will  now  be  passed  by.  The  tools 
used  in  metal  working  will  be  mentioned  in  a  following  chapter. 

Household  utensils  were  made  of  various  materials,  of  which 
earthenware,  as  noted  in  the  chapter  on  Pottery,  was  one  of  the 
chief.  There  were  also  trays,  boxes,  buckets,  and  cups  of  wood. 
Others  were  of  whalebone,  sealskin,  soapstone,  and  ivory.  Spoons 
were  made  from  the  horns  of  the  mountain  sheep,  from  those  of 
goats,  and  frr.Mu  bison  horns.     vSome  of  these  spoons,  made  of  horn 


U.  S.  Bu.  Eth. 


SIIKI.l.    SI'OON,    MISSiSSU'IM    VALI.IiV 
Actual  size 


by  the  North-west  coast  Amerinds,  are  elaborately  carved  and 
polished.  Clam,  oyster,  conch,  and  turtle  shells  also  served 
for  ladles  and  spoons.  Drinking  cup.s,  dippers,  water-bottles. 
and  other  vessels  were  made  of  gourds.  Metallic  cups  or  pots 
have  not  been  found  antedating  the  arrival  of  the  Spaniards. 
Soapstone  vessels,  as  well  as  earthenware,  were  made  and  used  in 
the  Atlantic  region  ;  soapstone  by  the  Eskimo.  Quarries  exist 
where  the  material  was  obtained,  especially  in  the  Chesapeake- 
Potomac  tidewater  region.  Special  pick-like  stone  tools  were 
made  for  cutting  out  these  pots  and  masses.  The  Eskimo,  who 
once  ranged  down  as  far  as  the  mouth  of  the  Hudson  and  possibly 
farther,  may  have  originally  opened  up  some  of  these  ((uarries. 


I 


H 


,  ■    > 

'I 


I'll  In 


[■;i 


:}  >^>  ( I  !  1 


m 


274  The   North-Americans  of  Yesterday 

In  the  lir.e  of  utensils,  the  Kskinio  lamp,  is,  perhaps,  one  of 
the  most  important  and  nnique.'  No  other  Amerinds  had  any- 
thing of  the  kind.  It  was  a  necessity  with  the  Kskimo,  while 
tribes  livinjj^  in  wooded  regions  would  have  no  use  for  it.     They 


U.  S.  Bu.  Eth. 


PUKHLO    MOUNTAIN    SUK-KP-HORN    SPOON. 


could  obtain  light  from  camp-fires,  especiallj'  with  the  addi- 
tion of  p''.ch  pine.  But  the  liskimo  lamp  is  primarily  a  heat- 
ing apparatus.  What  need  then  for  Amerinds,  who  had  wood, 
to  bother  with  a  lamp,  for  which  oil  nuist  be  prepared  ?  Be- 
sides this  consideration  was  the  one  of  cleanliness,  for  the  lamp 


;'^;i^-'^"rr:i^ysf^-.*'. 


U.  S.  Bu.  Eth. 


MENOMINEE  WOODEN    MoRT.Vk   AND    PESTLE 


is  very  dirty,  and  even  Amerinds  have  standards.  "  Far  more 
remarkable  than  being  the  unique  possessors  of  the  lamp  in  the 
Western  Hemisphere,"  says  Hough,  "  the  Eskimo  present  the 
spectacle  of  a  people  depending  for  their  very  existence  upon  this 

'Walter  Hough,  "The  Lamp  of  the  Eskimo,"  J^ep.  Nat.  Mus,,  1896, 
p.  1028. 


■' 


Weapons,   Armour,    Implements,   Transportation    275 

household  belonging.  Indeed,  it  is  a  startling  conclusion  tha- 
the  lamp  has  determined  the  occupancy  of  an  otherwise  uninhabit- 
able region  by  the  Kskimo,  or,  in  other  words,  the  distribution 
of  a  race."  '  When  fuel  can  be  obtair.ed,  which  is  the  case  often 
m  summer,  fires  are  used  instead  of  the  lamp.  This  fuel  is  peat 
grass,  driftwood,  or  shrubs.     The  lamp  is  generally  of  soapstone' 


U.  S.  Bii.  Eth. 


STONE    IIOISK-I.AMI',    l^OINT    IIARKOW,    ALASKA.       ^ 
3  in.  to  2  ft.  ill  length 


m 


(■■■  ■ 


though  some  have  been  made  of  clay,  earthenware,  bone,  or  wood. 
The  usual  shape  is  something  like  a  clam  shell,  though  thev  are 
sometnnes  oval  or  pear-shaped,  or  round.  They  are  modified  in 
form  accordnig  to  the  use  required  of  them,  the  traveller's  lamp 
benig  much  smaller  necessarily  than  the  ordinary  lamp  of  the 
iglu.  The  lamps  vary  in  length  from  two  or  three  inches  to 
about  two  feet,  and  in  width  from  one  half  inch  to  nine  or  ten 

'  The  Amerinds  of  Vancouver  Island  were  said  by  Captain  Chase  to  use 
a  lamp  made  of  a  clam  shell,  with  oil  from  the  whale  or  porpoise.  The  wicl. 
was  bark.— Hough,  p.  1039. 


i'l: 


9 


.!! 


;  i   1'  j 


••* 


i^  n 


I! 


I'M" 


Hi 

i 


276 


The   North-Americans  of  Ycst<irday 


inches,  while  the  height  is  from  less  than  an  inch  to  four  or  five. 
The  smallest  specimens  are  toy  lamps  of  the  children,  and  the 
next  in  size  the  traveller's  lamp.  Small  lamps  are  often  balanced 
but  the  large  ones  are  not,  but  are  supported  by  a  wooden  block 
or  by  pegs  of  wood  or  bone  stuck  into  the  snow.  The  shallow 
hollow  of  the  lamp  is  filled  with  seal  oil,  which  is  obtained  in  winter 
by  freezing  the  blubber,  when  the  oil  can  easily  be  extracted  by 
beating  ;  in  sunnner  often  by  chewing  it  out.  The  wick  is  of  moss 
and  is  arranged  along  the  wide  side  of  the  lamp.  It  has  to  be 
trimmed  frequently,  but  when  kept  in  gooil  order  gives  a  bright 
illumination  which  Schwatka  declared  to  be  "certainly  equal  to 
the  light  from  three  or  four  kero.sene  lamps."  The  oil  is  kept 
in  sealskins,  which  are  made  into  bottles  b}'  sewing,  and  the  com- 
fort and  cheerfulness  of  the  iglu  during  the  long  night  depend  on 
the  stock  of  oil  which  the  family  has  been  able  to  secure.  The 
farther  north,  the  larger  the  lamp,  becau.se  the  darkness  is  longer 
and  the  cold  greater.  1 7a'  zrrsa,  southward  it  finally  disappears. 
In  transportation  facilities  the  Amerinds  were  extremely  de- 
ficient, the  Kskimo  excelling  all  others  in  this  direction.  This 
was  the  result  of  environment  and  does  not  indicate  superiority 
of  the  Eskimo  over  other  stocks.  They  had  vast  treeless  plains 
and  ice  sheets  to  traverse,  and  the  sledgt  was  a  necessity.  Dogs  all 
Amerinds  had,  and  some  of  them  used  them,  to  n  certain  extent, 
for  beasts  of  burden,  so  that  there  was  not  a  great  deal  of  inven- 
tion required  to  attach  one  or  several  to  the  .sledge.  On  the  other 
hand,  most  Amerinds  were  not  so  situated  that  they  could  utilise 
the  dog  in  this  way,  and  the  continent  offered  them  no  substitute 
for  it  unless,  as  has  been  suspected,  .some  of  the  South-western 
tribes  may  have  had  an  animnl  resembling  the  vicuna,  which  they 
kept  for  its  wool  and  presumably  for  transportation  purposes  also. 
But  there  is  as  yet  no  trustworthy  evidence  of  this,  and  it  may  be 
snid  that  the  Amerinds  of  North  America  as  a  race  possessed  no 
beast  of  burden  but  the  dog.  In  time,  had  the  bison  not  been  ex- 
terminated, and  provided  also  that  the  whites  had  not  come,  it  is 
l^ossible  that  this  animal  might  have  been  domesticated  for  milk, 
for  meat,  and  for  draught  purposes.  But  the  bison,  after  all,  was 
ill  adapted  to  work,  for  he  is  clumsy,  so  that  the  Amerind  really 
had  only  the  dog  that  was  practicable,  and  this  he  utilised  as  far 
as  possible,  or  at  least  as  far  as  necessity  directed.  The  Amerinds 
encountered  on  the  plains  of  Texas  in  1540  by  Coronado  were 


'4' 


Weapons,   Armour,    Implements,    Tninsportation 


/  / 


using  the  dog,'  just  as  they  afterward  used  the  horse,  for  trans- 
porting tents  and  tent  poles.  A  great  many  different  forms  of 
sledge  are  in  use  among  the  Kskimo,  and  besides  the  regular 
sledges,  walrus  skins,  rolls  of  sealskins,  and  even  packs  of  salmon 


U.  S.  Hu.  Eth. 


KSKIMO    Sl.liDCKS 


are  sometimes  used  for  the  purpose.  When  skins  are  used  they 
are  soaked  with  fresh  water  and  sewed  in  a  bag  which  is  given  tlie 
desired  shape  and  then  allowed  to  freeze  solid,  in  which  condition 
it  remains  till  the  return  of  warm  weather.  The  I'ySkimo  is  never 
troubled  with  a  "January  thaw."  Sometimes  sledges  are  made 
out  of  slabs  of  fresh-water  ice  frozen  together;  or  blocks  of  ice  arc 
hollowed  out.  The  runners  of  the  ordinary  sledge  are  usually 
made  of  driftwood  and  are  from  five  to  fifteen  feet  long  and  twentj' 
inches  to  two  and  a  half  fee*"  apart.  The  runners  are  connected 
by  cros.sbars  of  wood  or  bone  and  are  shod  with  whalebone,  ivory, 
jawbone  of  whale,  and  sometimes  with  frozen  fish.  The  .shoe  is 
either  tied  or  riveted  in  place,  and  the  parts  are  generally  tied 
together,  though  now  iron  nails  are  sometimes  used.  When  there 
is  a  back  to  the  sledge  it  is  made,  in  the  Central  regions,  of  wood 
or  of  deer  or  caribou  antlers.  Very  small  sleds  are  used  for 
running  boats  out  of  water,  and  their  runners  are  often  single 
walrus  tusks,  the  rest  being  of  any  wood  obtainable.     "  The  dog 

'  See  Castaneda's  narrative,  Wiiiship's  translation,  Foiirtcentli  Ami. 
Rcpt.  Bu.  Eth.,  p.  527  ;  and  Ternaux  Cotnpans,  Relation  de  Castaneda,  p.  190, 
"ils  out  de  j^rands  troupeaux  de  chiens  qui  portent  leur  bagage  ;  lis  Ta',- 
tachent  sur  le  dos  de  ces  aniinaux  au  nioyen  d'une  sangle  etd'un  petit  bat  "  ; 
also  the  same  narrative,  Fourteenth  Ann.  Rcpt.  Bu.  Eth.,  p.  456. 


'i* 


..ill 


1    ^ 

i; 


1^1 


I  ll 


I'l? 


2/8  The   North-Americans  of  Yesterday 

harness  *joiisists  of  a  broad  band  or  strap  of  stout  rawhide,  with 
three  parallel  loops  at  one  end.  .  .  .  The  head  is  passed 
through  the  middle  loop,  and  a  foreleg  through  each  of  the  side 
loops,  bringing  the  main  part  of  the  thong  over  the  back."  '     This 


U.  S.  Bu.  Eth 


CENTRAL    KSKIMi)    DOC.    HARNESS 


ll'A 


is  the  trace,  and  by  means  of  a  toggle  it  is  fastened  to  a  long  line 
that  runs  back  to  the  sledge  and  connects  all  the  dogs  with  it. 
The  Central  Eskimo  make  two  bights  passing  under  the  forelegs, 
joined  bj'  two  straps  across  the  neck  and  breast.  The  dogs  are  not 
driv^en  in  Alaska,'^  but  they  are  in  the  Central  and  Eastern  regions, 
and  Boas  asserts  that  silence  must  be  maintained  during  the  jour- 
ney, for  the  dogs  will  stop,  tura  around,  sit  down,  and  listen  to  any 
conversation  that  is  carried  on.     The  dogs  are  wolf-like  in  appear- 

'  For  excellent  descriptions  in  detail  of  the  Eskimo  sledge  and  methods 
of  nsinjT  it,  see  Boas,  Six//i  Ann.  Rcpt.  Bit.  Eth.,  p.  529  et  scq. ;  Murdoch, 
Ninth  Ann.  Rept.  Bu.  Eth..  p.  353  et  seq.  :  and  Turner,  Eleventh  Ann. 
Rept.  Bu.  Eth.,  p.  241  et  seq. 

-Murdoch,  Ninth  Ann.  Rept.  Bu.  Eth.,  p.  358. 


Weapons,   Armour,    ImplL-nients,   Transportation    279 

ance  but  are  not  given  to  barking.  Indeed,  tiiey  seem  to  pay  little 
atten  ,on  to  a  stranger.  A  long  whip  is  nsed  for  touching  them 
up  when  on  the  sledge.  Steering  is  do.ie  bv  the  legs  of  the 
driver  In  the  late  spring,  when  there  are  sharp  ice  needles  a 
sort  of  eather  boot,  with  holes  for  the  nails,  is  tLl  to  the  dogs' 
leet  to  keep  them  trom  getting  sore.     In  summer-time  they  have 

:;;  :::h  '^e:  • ''"  ^^^^'^  '^'^^  ^^^^ ''°  ^-^'  ^^^^  ^--  -^ 

of  thirTlin'"  m'  '1  ^^•"PP-^-^ya"."  -ys  Mason.  "  are  formed 

'she      '■     Tr    ^^^r   '   !""'"•   "^^  ^"  '^°"^'   '-^"^^   -'^   ^"^^l^lv   pol- 
ished. Th.s  IS  the  toboggan,  or  Amerind  sled  without  runners 


U.  S.  Nat.  Mus 


KXC!.<.SKn   CAXAOIAX   TOn,K;,;AX    O:^    TRAVKI.MN.;    srn, 
Iron,  Porcupine  River.  AL.k..     Length  about  8  ft.:  width,  „  in.:  height  of  body,  ,8  in. 

developed  and  used  in  the  region  lying  between  that  occupied  by 

the  Eskimo  and  about  the  northern  limit  of  the  United  States 

Dogs  were  attached  to  the  toboggan  by  some  tribes,  as  the  Tinne' 

who  also  used  the  dogs  in  summer  as  pack  animals.     The  tobo-l 

gan,  however,  was  usually  pulled  by  men,  and  its  object  was  the 

ransportation  of  a  load  which  would  otherwise  need  to  be  carried 

It  was  made  of  a  single  thin  plank,  or  of  two,  fastened  together 

on  the  upper  surface  with  battens,  and  having  the  forward  end 

turned  up  and  over  like  a  letter  C  and  fixed  in  this  position  by 

rawhide  cords  attached  properly  to  the  first  cross  batten,  and  some- 

innes  a  rawhide  line  is  also  carried  back  to  the  last  batten  to  give 

additional  strength.     The  toboggan  is  now  in  common  use  among 

thewhites  of  America,  especially  the  Canadians. 

In  pulling  the  toboggan  over  the  snow  the  traveller  would 
sink  deep  and  become  tired  with  only  ordinarv  foot  covering  so 
the  Amerind  invented  a  shoe  expressly  for  snow  travel.     This  is 

n   .^.^"  '^•^^^'°'^'  "P"»"itive  Travel,"  /^,/>.   Nat.  Mus.,  p.  566  ;  see  also 
p.  564 ;  and  Turner,  in  the  Elrvent/,  An,,.  Rrpt.  B„.  Et/,.,  p.  307. 


I' 


t\ 


1. 1 

■Vi 

•  I 


kp 

i 


tm 


I 


280  The   North-vViiiL'ricans  of  Vcsterthiy 


?i 


»'«' 


l)   ? 


ll.t  •  ll'.f*  •»••••  •.(••»»M»  f.'J  J,  f, 


WA 


•.MJ.».«iWiI.M.«Jri 


familiar  to  ahnost  everybody,  but  a  brief  de- 
scription will  be  added  for  the  sake  of  those 
who  may  not  have  seen  it.  There  are  two 
kinds  of  snow-.shoe  ;  those  represented  by 
the  Norwegian  ski,  made  of  wood,  long  and 
slender,  nnd  not  used  in  America  before 
their  introduction  from  Kurope.  The  only 
wooden  shoe  recorded  is  an  Kskimo  one 
made  in  the  same  shape  as  their  others. 
The  other  kind  of  snow  -  shoe '  is  the 
Amerind  one  made  by  bending  to  an  oval 
shape  a  slender  piece  of  wood  for  a  frame, 
and  filling  the  interval  with  rawhide  net- 
ting ;  and  it  was  in  use  all  over  North 
America,  where  snow  remained  for  any 
length  of  time.  Among  some  tribes  these 
shoes  were  "  rights  and  lefts,"  but  as  a  rule 
I  hey  were  interchangeable.  They  are  gen- 
erally the  shape  of  a  long,  pointed  oval,  but 
some  are  almost  round.  There  are  two  cross- 
bars to  hold  the  frame  in  shape,  and  also  to 
form  supports  for  the  toe  and  heel.  Some 
shoes  were  four  or  five  feet  long  and  seven 
or  eight  inches  wide,  and  turned  up  at  the 
forward  end,  while  others  were  short  and 
broad  and  not  turned  up,  the  interval  be- 
tween being  filled  by  a  series  in  great  variety. 
The  foot  is  held  in  position  by  suitable 
thongs  or  straps.  These  shoes  are  now  in 
common  use  by  the  whites. 

In  summer  the  means  of  travel,  before 
the  horse  came  with  the  European,  were, 
on  land,  nothing  more  than  a  good  pair  of 
legs,  but,  on  the  water,  it  was  different. 
There,  many  of  the  Amerinds  were  at  home, 
for  they  had  some   of  the  most  admirable 


U.  S.  Bu.  Eth. 


'See  O.  T.  Mason,  "Primitive  Travel,"  J^rp. 
ESKIMO  SNOW-SHOE,        Naf.  AIus.,  pp.  381-410  ;  Eleventh  Ann.  Rept.  Bu. 
POINT  BARROW,  ALASKA.    Eth.,  pp.  308-312 ;  Ninth  Ann.  Rept.  Bu.  Eth., 
Vs  PP-  344-352. 


.*  t! 


\V 


Wcajions,   Armour,    Inii)l(,'ni(Mits,   TransportJitioii    2S1 


* 


t 


small  boats  ever  devised 
is  the  birchbark  ca- 
noe,' though  tlie  lis- 
kinio  k;iyak  is  not  far 
behind  it.  The  birch - 
bark  canoe  is  made  in 
various  sizes  and  in 
diffc;rent  tribes  has  va- 
riations, but  the  type 
is  the  same  every- 
where. There  is  a 
slender,  well  -  made 
frame  of  wood,  con- 
sisting of  ribs,  gun- 
wales, and  stiffening 
strips,  over  which  the 
bark,  which  has  pre- 
viously been  sewed 
together,  is  stretched. 
The  bow  is  a  trifle 
broader  across  the 
beam  than  the  stern, 
but  l)Oth  are  pointed. 
The  bark  covering  is 
rendered  water-tight, 
where  there  are  holes 
or  seams,  with  pine 
gum.  The  paddle  is 
similar  to  the  paddle 
in  use  everywhere  by 
th.^  Amerinds,  having 
a  sort  of  T-shaped  top 
to  the  handle,  and 
being  about   five  feet 

'  For  details  of  con- 
struction see  Turner, 
Eleventh  Ann.  Rept.  Bn. 
Eth.,  p.  305  ;  and  Hoff- 
man, Fourteenth  Ann. 
Rept.  Bu.  Eth.,  p.  292. 


Chief  of  these,  for  lightness  and  grace, 


■S 

I 


■t 


i  E- 


■t.   «- 

1/  ^ 


Ic    r. 


■■    X 


c 


o 


li 

f 


H'  I » 


•  I't' 


,"i 


T      1   ^ 


'■■■W 


•t'.:  ' 


HI.; 


2^2 


; 


■iS! 


H  I  ■ 


i! 


Ill: 


Tlic   Xorth-AniL'ricans  of  \'cstcrcla}' 


long  and  fourlo  six  inches  wide.  This  kind  of  canoe  was  made 
wherever  there  was  birchljarlc  and  water  to  float  it.  Another  form 
of  boat  which  was  universal  was  the  dugout  canoe.  This  varied  in 
size  and  shape  according  to  locality,  and  was  always  hollowed  out 
of  a  single  tree,  by  fire  and  by  gouging.  When  completed  it  was 
spread  open  wider,  .so  that  one  of  these  l)oats  has  the  appearance  of 
l)L'ing  from  a  larger  tree  than  is  the  case.  The  finest  dugout 
canoes  are  those  of  the  North-west  coast,  where  i  thev  are  con- 
structed from  cedar  trees  of  huge 
proportions.  One  of  these  canoes, 
made  by  the  llaidas,  now  in  the 
American  jMuseum  in  New  York, 
is  almost  a  ship  and  could  be 
navigated  in  stormy  waters.  The 
Haida  canous  are  often  elaborately 
curved.  Farther  up  the  coast  the 
Tlinkits  are  experts  likewise  in 
canoe  ln;ilding  and  in  the  man 
nijement  of  them.     Their  ca- 


noes are  nl.so  hollowed  from 


U.  S.  Iju.  Eth. 


IMIAK    OK    THK    CKNTRAl,    F.SKIMO 
The  Alask.-i  umiak  has  no  oars  and  is  more  pointed 


single  logs 


Man\'  of  them  are  small,  being  barely  large  enough  for 
two  persons.  Some  have  a  peculiar  projection,  a  point  sticking  out 
from  the  lower  part  in  line  with  the  place  where  the  keel  would 
be  if  they  had  one,  and  also  another  at  the  top,  rather  square  ; 
that  is,  the  wedge-like  end  is  hollowed  out  in  the  middle. 
Ivither  end  is  sent  forward,  but  the  prong  end  usually  first.  It 
M'emed  as  if  this  projection  might  be  intended  to  ward  off  ice,  for 
it  is  in  the  regions  of  Yakutat  and  Glacier  bays  that  it  is  the  doni- 


i 


in 


Weapons,   Armour,    Implements,   Transportation    2S3 


T 


1 


iiiant  lyi)e  ;  and  there  ice  is  always  floating  from  the  ghicicrs.  At 
Prince  William  Sound  thQ  /xi/i/arhi/  or  kayak,  comes  into  use. 
This  is  certainly  the  ])erfection  of  a  canoe.  The  frame  is  admi- 
rably made,  being  tied  together  and  covered  with  walrus  hide,  or 
sealskin,  and  the  boat  rests  on  the  sea  seeming  scarcely  to  sink 
into  it.  The  umiak  is  the  boat  for  travelling  and  general  trans- 
]wrtation.  In  it  the  whole  family,  or  even  two  or  three  families, 
with  all  their  trappings,  journey  about — dogs,  children,  packages, 
and  adults  all  combined.  In  the  sunlight  its  rich,  translucent 
yellow  colour  is  beautiful,  and  when  fdled  with  the  good-natured, 


I 


k, 


,1' 


m 


4 


1 


U.  S.  Dii.  Kth. 


Frame 


r.SKIMo    k.WAKS 


'I'he  fr.imework  is  tied  to^iiher  and  ciivcred  wiih  walrus  or  (■tlicr  liidc.     SometiiiRS,  as  in  the 
Aleut  kayaks,  there  are  two  or  three  hatch-holes 

ruddy-cheeked  lC>5kimo,  clad  in  soft  and  elegant  furs,  the  picttire 
formed  is  one  that  is  remembered  ever  after.  In  the  Eastern 
regions  it  is  termed  the  woman's  boat.  They  are  usually  about 
thirty  feet  long,  five  or  six  wide,  and  thirty  inches  deep.  The 
ends  are  both  rathor  pointed,  and  the  bottom  is  flat.  vSome- 
times  there  will  be  fifteen  or  twenty  persons  in  one  of  the  tuniaks 
at  the  same  time.  The  frame  is  on  the  same  general  principle  as 
all  other  boats— that  is,  a  combination  of  certain  ribs,  thwarts, 
braces,  etc.  All  these  pieces  are  lashed  together,  and  when  the 
.skin  covering  is  on,  the  umiak  is  a  staunch  and  excellent  craft, 
albeit  it  is  entirely  open.     The  cover  is  laced  on,  and  in  winter 

'  Baidarka  is  tlie  Russian  term  used  at  Kodiak  and  along  the  Alaska 
peninsula.     Baidar  =  umiak  ;  baidarka  =  kayak. 


>  i 


;  J 


■I 


■4 


IK 


i 


\  I 


l! 


i  > 


ll 

!  ,   ■ 

1 

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4 

11 

id: 

2S4 


The  North-Aintiricaiis  of  Yc'stcrclay 


i*:  is  removed  and  stored  away  till  the  waters  are  open  once  more, 
when  it  is  soaked  in  the  sea  to  render  it  sott  and  again  stretched 
in  place. 

The  nmiak  '  has  a  sail  of  the  square  sort,  made  in  these  days 
out  of  cotton,  thongli  formerly  of  seal  intestine,  which  is  attached 
to  a  yard.  The  ma.st  is  some  twelve  feet  high.  The  paddles  are 
about  five  feet  long  and  six  inches  wide,  though  there  are  smaller 
ones  also.  Sometimes  oars  are  used  as  well  as  the  paddles  in 
navigating  the  umiak.  The  kayak  is  made  in  the  .same  wa>-  by 
stretching  skins  over  a  wood  frame  tied  together  most  dexterou.sly. 


U.  =.  Bu.  Kth. 
MKTIIOIJ  OK  ATTArillM;  OAKS  TO  I MIAK 


Ml   lllol)  <(|'    I  VIN(;   l-KAMK  111    K AVAK 


The  navigator  sits  in  a  hatchway,  as  the  kayak  is  entirely  cov- 
ered, and  a  sort  of  apron  tied  around  his  waist  and  around  the 
coaming  renders  the  boat  water-tight.  It  is  said  some  of  the 
Alaskans  will  turn  a  somersault  in  the  water,  coming  up  on 
the  opposite  side. 

Besides  the  boats  mentioned  there  were  others  on  the  conti- 
nent made  in  different  ways,'"*  but  these  are  the  chief  ones  and  serve 
to  show  that  the  Amerind  was  ready  to  adapt  himself  to  water 
when  occasion  demanded.  Taken  all  in  all,  his  weapons,  armour, 
implements,  and  his  transportation  methods  show,  as  other  things 
do,  that  he  was  a  progressing,  thinking  being,  with  a  good  brain 
directing  his  operation.". 

'  For  details  of  kayak  niiil  umiak  construction,  see  Murdoch,  Ninth 
Ann.  Rept.  Ru.  Eth.,  p.  32S  ;  BoaH,  Sixth  Ann.  Rept.  Bu.  Eth.,  p.  527  ;  Tur- 
ner, Eleventh  Ann.  Rept.  Bu.  fih.,  p.  235  ;  see,  also,  for  hunting  weapons 
and  methods,  "Aboriginal  American  Zootechny,"  by  Otis  Tufton  Mason, 
American  Anthropoloii^ist,  N.  S,,  vol.  i..  No.  i,  1899. 

'  The  OmaLas  made  cue  out  of  dried  bison  hides,  branches,  and  saplings. 


■ 


' 


: 


TiriN  I'LATE  or  COI'I'KR  WKoliill  I    l;V  KKl'dlssK  Mimron,  ILLINOIS  MOUND 


CHAPTKR   X 

MIXIXG,    METAI^LURGY,    AND    SCIKNCE 

MINING  operations  were  carried  on  in  different  parts  of  the 
continent,  but  in  a  primitive,  limited  way.  vSome  of  the 
most  extensive  was  the  mining  for  flint  with  which  to 
make  stone  implements,  mentioned  before.  The  mining  was 
done  by  means  of  fire  and  cold  water  alternately  applied,  and 
this  was  the  method  used  in  all  mining  operations  on  the  conti- 
nent, so  far  as  is  now  known,  except  in  the  steatite  or  soapstone 
mining.  But,  even  in  Europe,  until  the  invention  of  gunpowder, 
the  fire  method  was  employed,  and  in  one  or  iwo  localities  where 
fuel  is  plenty  it  is  said  to  be  still  considered  an  economical  manner 
of  extracting  ore.  In  the  Far  West,  where  the  rocks  and  ledges 
were  more  exposed,  veins  were  discovered  where  the  calcedon\',  or 
jasper,  or  other  stone  desired  for  stone  implements  could  be  easily 
knocked  out.  It  was  then  carried  away  to  some  comfortable  site 
and  wrought  into  shapes.  Along  Western  rivers  one  occasionally 
comes  upon  a  spot  where  the  ground  is  littered  with  "  chips," 
rejects,  broken  arrow-heads,  and  also  perfect  ones,  the  latter  prob- 

285 


l»rrt 


'^! 


I 


286  The   North-Americans  of  Yesterday 


ioi 


■  n 


11?/  ' 


ably  having  been  dropped  and  lost  ;  or  p  "ssibly  in  some  v\'ay  not 
being  satisfactory  to  the  arrow-makers. 

In  working  out  soapstone  vessels  of  the  larger  kind,  the  min- 
ing and  rough  shnping  were  frequently,  if  not  always,  accom- 
plished at  one  and  the  same  time. '  Holmes  describes  the  methods 
employed  as  follows:  "  When  a  sufficient  area  of  the  solid  stone 
had  been  uncovered,  the  workmen  proceeded  with  pick  and  chisel 
to  detach  such  portions  as  were  desired.  If  this  surface  happened 
to  be  uneven,  the  projections  or  convexities  were  utilized,  and  the 
cutting  was  not  difficult  ;  if  the  rock  was  massive  and  the  surface 
flat,  a  circular  groove  was  cut,  outlining  the  mass  to  be  removed, 
and  the  cutting  was  continued  until  a  depth  ^vas  reached  corre- 
sponding to  the  height  of  the  utensil  to  be  made  ;  then,  by 
undercutting,  the  nucleus  was  detached  or  so  far  severed  that  it 
could  be  broken  off  by  means  of  sledges  or  levers.  If  the  stone 
happened  to  be  laminated,  a  circular  groove  was  cut  through  at 
right  angles  to  the  beddinor,  and  the  discoid  mass  was  removed 
without  the  need  of  undercutting.  ...  A  notable  feature  of 
the  cutting  out  of  these  masses  of  stone  is  the  attendant  shaping 
of  the  mass  whicli  was  rudely  sculptured  as  the  work  went  on,  the 
contour  o(  the  vessel  being  approximately  developed.  Althou,i;h  I 
have  seen  no  good  examples  of  this  class,  it  is  confidently  stated  hy 
others  that  rude  nodes  were  carved  at  opposite  ends  of  the  mass  as 
incipient  handles,  and  that  excavation  of  the  bowl  was  begun,  so 
that  when  severed  from  the  stem  the  vessel  Was  already  well  umler 
way."  ^  These  vessels  were  usually,  in  their  largest  size,  about 
two  feet  long,  one  foot  or  more  in  width,  and  about  seven  or  eight 
inches  aeep.  Some  are  nearly  circular.  The  tools  used  were  of 
stone,  w^ood,  bone,  and  horn,  but  chiefly  of  stone  in  the  form  of 
chisels  and  picks.  Some  of  the  trenches  formed  in  cutting  out  this 
material  were  twenty-five  feet  wide,  sixteen  feet  deep,  and  seventy 
feet  long.  One  described  by  Fowke  near  Culpeper,  Va.,  is  one 
hundred  and  fifty  feet  in  diameter  and  of  considerable  depth, 
being  filled  with  water  and  debri.«.  Pits  of  varying  depth  and 
size  from  which  steatite,  jasper,  rhyolite,  and  other  materials  have 

'  Mines  of  steatite  vessels  have  been  found  on  Santa  Cataliua  Island. 
California,  as  well  as  on  the  Eastern  United  States  coast.  Charles  F.  Hol<ler 
describes  the  Santa  Catalina  mines  in  the  Scientific  American  for  December 
16,  1899. 

'■'W.  H.  Holmes,  Fifteenth  Ann.  Rept.  Bii.  E^n.,  pp.  loS,  109. 


I.-; 


h'^  -'^-  ■  3 


r. 


-^„v ••^M ■; /;  -  ■A:m  '■mm;-.  ■  :-^^.  ^  f -^ ■  ^ , ^ 


ii«t^'^ 


a 


•';/>^;^r 


I 


I 


it 


Mfl 


I' 


.  I  ! 


i '.' 


^^  1 


,      'I 


288 


The   Xorth-Aincricans  of  Yesterday 


hi  ' 


II I  I. 


been  extracted  by  the  Aineriiuls  are  found  in  different  parts  of 
the  continent.  In  Yucatan  there  are  nunerous  well-like  holes  in 
the  ground  that  were  "  pockets  "  of /ahcab,  and  when  this  valued 
material  was  taken  out  tlie  cavity  wa::.  either  left  or  transformed 
into  tlie  strange  well-like  affairs,  carefully  walled  up  and  covered 
over,  called  chultunes,  the  object  of  which  is  often  a  mystery.' 

Native  metals,  v/hen  discovered  by  the  Amerinds,  were  mined 
in  much  the  same  wa}'  as  the  flint,  the  largest  workings  known 
being  those  at  the  L,ake  Superior  copper  mines,  where  copper  of 
remarkable  purity  continues  to  furnish  this  continent  and  the 
world  with  an  abundant  supply.  Doubtless  most  of  the  copper 
used  on  the  North  American  continent  prior  to  the  Discovery  was 
derived  from  these  mines  and  distributed  through  the  channels  of 
Amerind  trade.  Bowlders  or  nuggets  of  this  pure  copper  were 
treasured  in  the  homes  of  the  tribes  of  the  northern  lake  region 
when  first  encountered  by  the  whites,  and  the  location  of  the  out- 
crops, both  on  the  mainland  and  on  the  islands,  appears  to  have 
l)een  well  known  to  tlie  Amerinds  of  that  time.  An  Alg'  KUiin 
chief  presented  Champlain  whh  a  piece  of  copper  a  foo!  ■i'-'p  .'A 
told  him  there  were  "  large  quantities"  where  he  had  obtained 
tliis.  He  also  said  "  that  they  gathered  it  in  lumps,  and,  h:iving 
melted  it,  spread  it  in  sheets,  smoothing  it  with  .stones."  ■'  The 
mining  operations  in  the  Michigan-Minnesota  copper  region 
were  evidently  c.irried  on  for  a  very  long  period  in  the  laborious 
Amerind  way,  and  in  consequence  at  the  time  they  were  first  no- 
ticed had  the  appearance  of  extensive  operations  by  a  few  miners, 
leading  to  the  erroneous  supposition  that  they  had  been  worked 
by  some  other  race. 

It  must  not  be  forgotten  that  before  tiie  arriv^al  of  white  men, 
and  even  to  this  day  in  certain  localities,  copper  appeared  about 
as  valuable  as  gcid.  If  tlie  Lake  Superior  mines  had  been  gold 
instead  of  copper  it  would  not  greatly  have  enhanced  the  value 
of  the  product  in  the  opinion  of  the  Amerinds  of  the  locality  and 
their  customers.  They  worried  their  way  do  11  into  the  rock 
which  carried  native  copper  and  broke  off  nodules  and  fra[;ments 
as  they  proceeded.  Some  of  the  pits  were  eighteen  or  twenty  feet 
deep,  and  in  one  case  a  huge  bowlder  of  copper  was  found  lying 

'  For  a  description  of  these  cbultiuies,  see  "The  Cljulti  .  j;  of  Labua," 
Monoirs  of  ]\'abody  Jfnsriini. 

■•' Cbatnplaiu's  Voyages,  Priuce  Society  edition,  vol.  ii.,  p.  236. 


IVIining^,   Metallurgy,   and  Science 


2  89 


on  oak  supports  several  feet  from  the  bottom.  Tliis  mass  had 
been  denuded  of  every  projection,  and  the  supposition  generally 
has  been  that  i:  was  being  elevated  to  the  surface  by  means  of  the 
wood  underpinning.  This  may  have  been  the  case,  but  it  is  pos- 
sil)le  that  the  underpituiing  was  inserted  as  the  miners  went  down 
on  the  vein,  because  the  bowlder  was  too  large  to  cut  or  handle. 
They  therefore  left  if  7C'/iere J'oiDid  i\\\(\  proceeded  to  mine  under  and 
around  for  the  smaller  pieces.  The  large  one  was  ten  feet  long, 
three  feet  wide,  nearly 
two  feet  thick,  and 
weighed  over  six  tons. 
Other  bowlders  of  great- 
er weight  have  been 
found,  moved,  as  is 
supposed,  a  considerable 
distance  from  the  orig- 
inal bed,  but  the  same 
hvpolhesis  might  apply 
to  these  that  is  suggest- 
ed above.  The  famous 
Ontonagon  bowlder,' 
which  was  found  on 
th^  river  of  that  name, 
is  a  copper  mass  weigh- 
ing somewhere  near  five 
tons  and  has  been  the 
cause  of  much  specula- 
tion as  to  how  it  came 
there.  The  probability 
is    Uiat    it    was   left    by 

glacial  action  on  the  surface,  not  far  from,  if  not  on,  the  spot  where 
found.  It  is  not  likely  that  the  Amerinds  would  take  the  trouble 
to  move  so  large  a  mass  far.  If  they  had  posse.ssed  the  power  of 
cutting  it  un,  they  would  have  done  it  near  its  source,  atid  the 
same  remark  applies  to  '.he  bowlders  of  copper  that  it  has  been 
supposed  they  were  trying  to  lift  to  the  surface.  Furthermore,  if 
the  Ontonagon  bowlder  v;ere  transported  l)y  them  to  its  poiition, 
and   if  the  large  bowlders  in    the   mines   were   destined    for   the 

'  Now  in  the  National  Museum,  Wasliiii<jtoii.     vSee  article  on  the  .sub- 
ject, by  Charles  Moore,  Report  of  U.  S.  Museum,  liSgs. 
'9 


V 

'  \ 
(.1 


U.  S.  P.u.  Kth. 


(■iiii'ri;i)   sr.ADi', 


%\\ 


j 


I  , 


It'' 


'?? 


i1  '  t;  i 


I 


ill! 


mill 
Iff  ^  i 


3 


290  The   North- Americans  of  Yesterday 

surface  and  transportation  in  bulk,  we  ought  to  find  somewhere 
else  records  or  evidences  of  the  presence  of  great  bowlders,  Ijut 
nothing  of  the  kind  has  been  found;  no  such  large  copper  mass 
has  been  discovered  in  any  ruined  Amerind  town,  or  on  an\' 
Amerind  village  or  town  site.  It  seems  that  the  Ontonagon  bowl- 
der was  a  natural  deposit.  These  huge  masses  of  copper  were 
troublesome  to  modern  miners  with  the  most  approved  machinery. 
It  must  not  be  supposed  that  all  the  Amerinds  of  that  region 
were  miners,  any  more  than  that  all  the  Amerinds  of  any  other 
region  were  equally  developed  or  skilful,  or  all  did  the  same 
things.      The  Navajos  of  the  South-west  are  some  of  them  ex- 


U.  S.  Bu.  Eth. 


ESKIMO    STONE    MAUI., 


H 


pert  silver- workers,  yet  their  neighbours,  for  the  most  part,  can 
do  little  or  nothing  in  that  line.  But  that  is  no  reason  for  sup- 
posing the  Navajos  to  be  a  race  distinct  and  apart  from  the  rest. 
No  more  were  the  workers  of  the  Lake  Superior  copper  mines  any 
different  from  their  neighbours  in  general.  They  had  a  knack  of 
working  the  native  copper  out  of  the  ground,  and  they  worked  it 
just  as  others  mined  for  flint.  When  they  ceased  it  was  probably 
because  they  had  worked  out  all  the  easy  places  they  could  find, 
or  that  their  trade  fell  off  owing  to  the  introduction  by  the  Euro- 
peans of  manufactured  articles  of  copper  and  iron. 

In  one  of  the  ancient  pits  a  hemlock  with  395  annular  rings  was 
growing,  and  this  has  led  to  the  supposition  that  the  mines  were 
worked  before  the  time  of  Columbus.  The  excavations  undoubt- 
edly extended  over  a  long  period  ;  from  before  Columbus  to  after 
Champlain.  But  it  was  over  three  hundred  years  after  Columbus 
before  the  first  explorations  of  the  Lake  Superior  region  were 


^ 


Mining-,    IVIetalliirgy,  and  Science 


191 


made  by  General  Cass,  and  hence  the  tree  had  time  to  grow  since 
that  date.  On  the  whole,  there  seems  to  be  no  reason  for  suppos- 
ing that  anyone  but  Amerinds  worked  these  mines;  Amerinds 
lastly  of  Algonquin  stock,  though  other  stocks  probably  worked 
them  also. 

The  method  of  utilising  this  copper  in  the  Northern  regions, 
that  is,  north  of  Mexico,  was  as  primitive  as  the  method  of  extract- 
ing it  from  the  ground.  It  seems  often,  perhaps  generally,  to  liave 
been  hammered  into  shape  cold  and  then  finished  by  grinding. 
Doubtless  they  knew  how  to  melt  it  out  of  the  rock  on  a  small 
scale,  allowing  it  to  drop  or  run  into  a  mould  scraped  into  the  sur- 
face of  a  flat  stone,  somewhat  the  shape  of  the  article  to  be  made, 
which  would  afterward  be  finished  with  hannnering  and  grinding. 

The  objects  found  in  the  Mississippi  valley,  formed  of  copper, 
which  are  probably  the  unaided  work  of  the  Amerinds,  are  chisels, 
arrow-  and  spear-heads,  knives,  and  perhaps  certain  tliin  plates 
wrought  with  designs  in  the  repousse  method.     No  camp  utensils 
or  other  objects  have  been  found  demanding  a  knowledge  of  the 
properties    ""  the  metal  sufiicient  to  work  it  into  articles  requiring 
a  quantity  of  copper  to  be  manipulated  at  once.      Gushing  main- 
tains '  that  the  production  of  thin  plates  was  an  easy  matter  and 
he   shows  how   the  Zuiiis  made  them,    but  admitting  that   the 
Amerinds  of  the  Mississippi  valley  could  make  these  plates,  it  does 
not  prove  that  they  did,  for  as  copper  in  various  forms  was  very 
early  an  article  of  trade,  it  is  possible  that  they  used  the  imported 
article.     Gushing  explains  how  the  Zunis,  by  a  process  of  alternate 
hammering  and  annealing  and  then  grinding,  produced  thin  plates, 
which  being  pressed  with  a  sharp  tool  would  receive  a  design. 
This  pressed-out  portion  cculd  be  ground  down  with  a  flat  slab  to 
sever  it  from  the  ragged  edges  of  the  sheet,   and  also  to  make 
any  desired  perforations.     The  resulting  turned-up  edges  could  be 
hammered  flat  and  they  then  would  be  as  if  cut  by  a  shear. 

Gushing  explains  how  in  the  South-west  ore  was  quarried  and 
roasted  in  an  open  fire,  and  then  smelted  in  a  sort  of  oven,  the 
copper  or  other  metal  appearing  finally  at  the  bottom.  Primitive 
furnaces  of  this  kind  he  found  in  the  Salt  River  valley.  The 
.singular  thing  about  it  is  the  almost  total  absence  of  metai  objects 
in  the  ruins  of  the  South-west.     Aside  from  several  small  copper 

'Frank  Hamilton  Gushing,  "Primitive   Copper  Working,   An  Experi- 
mental Study,"  Amrrican  Anthropologist,  O.  S.,  vol.  vii..  No.  i,  1S94. 


1  ' 


^i  { 


'h, 


'..t-: 


1 1 ! 


>\f 


■H 


2g? 


The   North-Americans  of  Yesterday 


t^!» 


"  hawk  "  bells  found  in  the  Salado  and  other  Arizona  ruins,  I  have 
not  heaid  of  any  metal  object  that  was  not  positively  Kuropean 
being  found  in  any  mound  or  ruin  of  the  South-west,  with  one 
exception.'  In  1(875  a  man  in  my  employ  in  southern  Utah  told 
me  that  several  years  before  that  time  his  uncle  either  had  found 
in  a  mound  in  southern  Nevada  or  northern  Arizona,  or  had 
obtained  from  some  natives  who  found  it,  a  small  gold  image, 
which  he  had  melted  down  for  the  value  of  the  metal  it  con- 
tained. At  the  time  I  thought  this  tale  belonged  with  that  of  the 
"  lost  mine,"  but  I  am  now  inclined  to  see  a  fact  in  it.  It  is  quite 
within  bounds  that  one  of  the  small  Mexican  or  Chiriquian  figures 

may  have  found  its  way  up  into  this 


region. 


U.  S.  liu.  Eth.  Side 

SMAI.I.   I'lClRK   OF  A  KKOU    IN     l;ASK 

MI'.TAl,,    I'l.AI'KI)  WITH  COM), 

CIIIKHUT 


im  '\ 


If  there  had  been  a  wide  know- 
ledge of  copper  and  other  metal- 
working  in  tlie  South-west  in  the 
olden  time,  there  ought  to  be  signs 
of  it  in  the  ruins  other  than  an 
over.,  and  even  the  latter  has  been 
rarely  found.  Coronado  and  his 
chroniclers,  Espejo,  and  all  the  list  of 
early  writers  on  that  region,  never, 
so  far  as  I  have  been  able  to  note,  mention  copper  or  any  other 
metal  articles.  In  fact,  from  the  testimony  of  literature,  history, 
and  actual  excavation  among  the  ruins  so  far  as  carried  at  present, 
we  should  conclude  that  none  of  the  people  of  that  region  knew 
about  met  Is  or  the  manner  of  working  them  before  the  year  1540.^ 
New^  Jersey  also  furnished  the  Amerinds  some  copper  and  those 
living  in  die  Atlantic  region  had  ornaments,  arrow-heads, and  pipes 
supposed  to  have  been  made  from  it  or  from  Lake  Superior  copper. 
Brinton  attributes  the  scarcity  of  specimens  in  our  collections  to 
"  its  being  bought  up  and  melted  by  the  whites,  rather  than  to  its 
limited  employment."  '  A  few  examples  ha^-e  been  found,  but 
if  they  had  been  plentiful  there  should  be  discovered  many  im- 

'  Fewkes  found  several  of  these  bells  in  his  excavations  around  the 
headwaters  of  the  Gila. 

'-'  During  my  stay  with  the  Mokis  and  in  their  vicinity  and  in  all  the  lonj^ 
time  I  have  been  observing  them,  I  never  saw  nor  heard  of  a  single  object 
in  metal  wrought  by  them. 

■Brinton,   77fc'  Lcnapc,  p.  52. 


Mining,   Mctallurt^^y,  and  Science 


293 


pleineiits  anledaUiij^  the  arrival  of  the  wliites.  On  lirinlon's 
hypothesis  it  would  he  necessary  to  assume  that  there  were  k  w 
made  before  the  coming-  of  the  wliites  or  they  could  not  have  heen 
so  easily  bought  up.     As  a  matter  of  fact,  the   finds  in    copper 

articles     compared    with    the    area 
occupied  are   astonishingl\-  few.   if 


U.  S   Nai.  Mu. 
P. limed  design  in  black,  representing  a 
sea  monster  with  bear's  head 


Painted  design  representing  a  hawk 


COl'I'KRS    KKO.M    Tin".    M  )UIIl-\Vi:S  T    COASl'. 


1 
1  -■ 


These  are  riadc  of  thin  slieets  of  copper,  and  grow  valuable  by  sale  or  exchange,  according 
to  peculiar  customs.     Some  rise  as  high  as  S5000  or  $6000 

the  natives  turned  off  the  amount  of  work  some  writers  would 
have  US  believe. 

On  the  North-west  coast  an  article  of  great  importance  and 
value  is  the  "copper."  In  former  days  the.se  coppers  were  made 
of  native  metal  obtained  from  the  mines  of  that  region,  and  they 
must  have  been  made  by  cold  hammerin<^  in  the  way  that  Cnsh- 
ing  describes.  To-day  they  are  made  of  metal  obtained  from 
the  whites.  The  coppers  are  thin  plates  of  a  peculiar  shape  ; 
the  nearest  common  thing  that  they  re::cmble  is  a  gauntleted 
glove  with   the  fingers  cut  off  and  with   the  gauntlet  the  top. 


H6/ 


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m 


t 


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■  if 


• .  't 


mi 


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I ; 


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i;^ 


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k  if 


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11 


■, 


I 


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M 


294  The   North-Americans  of  Yesterday 

Across  the  wrist  runs  a  ridge  from  one  side  to  the  other,  and 
from  tlie  middle  of  tliis  another  ridge  extends  downward  to  the 
bottom,  tlius  making  with  the  first  the  shape  of  a  letter  T  below 
the  flaring  j)art.  "The  top  is  called  the  face,"  says  Boas  in  his 
valuable  and  interesting  account  of  the  Kwakiutls,  "the  lower 
part  the  hind  end.  The  front  of  the  copper  is  covered  with  black 
lead,  in  which  a  face  representing  the  crest  animal  (totem;  of  the 
owner  is  graven.  These  coppers  have  the  same  function  which 
bank  notes  of  high  denominations  have  with  us.  The  actual 
value  of  the  piece  of  copper  is  small  l)ut  it  is  made  to  represent  a 
large  number  of  blankets,  and  can  always  be  sold  for  blankets. 
A  white  blanket  at  fifty  cents  is  the  unit.  Tlie  value  is  not 
arbitrarily  .set  but  depends  upon  the  amount  of  prooerty  given 
away  in  the  festival  at  which  the  copper  is  sold.  The  oftener  a 
copper  is  sold  the  higher  its  value."  '     Every  copper  has  its  own 

special  name,  representing  its  peerless 
quality,  or  an  animal;  as,  the  kilk' 
whale,  the  bear  face,  beaver  face,  etc. 
As  abilit\'  to  destroy  valuable  property 
amongst  these  people  distinguishes  the 
great  and  wealthy,  these  valt  able  coppers 
are  demolished  piecemeal  till  only  the 
portion  with  the  T  upon  it  remains. 
Sometimes  all  the  fragments  are  bought 
up  by  another  person,  who  rivets  them 
together  and  the  copper  then  has  a  greater 
price  than  ever.  A  broken  copper  is  a 
more  important  piece  of  property  than  a 
whole  one,  because  the  possession  of  it 
shows  that  its  owner  is  rich  enough  to 
destroy  property.  These  plates  are  in  use 
from  Yakutat  to  Comox.  Sometimes  a 
copper  is  cast  into  the  .sea. 

In  the  South-we.st  it  is  not  the  house- 
building Pueblo  who  is  the  metal-worker 
par  excellence  but  the  semi-pastoral  Na- 
vajo, wlio,  besides  his  flocks  and  herds, 
pos.sesses  a  wealth  of  silver  ornaments  that  runs  up  into  the  thou- 
sands.    Silver   and  copper   ornaments   are  turned    out    by    the 

'  F.  Boas,  "The  Kwakiutl  ludiaus,"  Rcpt.  Nat.  HIus.,  1895,  p.  344. 


U.  S.  Lu.  Eth. 

HOl.l.OW    SIIA'F.R   BEADS  OF 
NAVAJO  MARK,  ARIZONA 

Actual  size 


M 


IMinino-,   Metalluri^)-,  and   Scit-nce 


295 


native  silversniitli  not  only  for  his  own  people  hnt  for  whites 
also,  and  a  eonsiderahle  trade  exists  hetween  the  Navajos  and 
other  Amerinds  in  this  native  jewelry  as  well  as  in  Mankets. 
It"  yon  desire  to  have  an  article  made,  you  give  the  siher  it  is 
to  contain,  nsually  in  dollar  pieces,  and  an  eqnal 
(inantity  us  wages.  The  objects  manufactured 
are  globular  and  semi-globnlar  buttons  ;  brace- 
lets like  a  letter  C  in  form  and  shape,  buckles. 


U.  S.  Bii.  Eth. 

Engraved  button 


Hracelet 
Usually  about  2}^  inches  long 


NAVAJO    SII.VK.R    WORK,    ARIZONA 

rings,  plate  for  the  bridle,  tobacco  canisters,  flat  buttons,  beads,  and 
various  discs,  and  other  ornamental  objects.  These  are  often  en- 
graved quite  artistically,  and  .sometimes  elaborately.  Copper  seems 
to  be  a  valued  metal  for  ornaments,  and  I  have  seen  copper  l)race- 
lets  on  a  Navajo  woman  made  exactly  the  same  as  silver  ones. 
The  Navajo  silversmith  is  up  to  a  trick  or  two  as  well  as  his  white 
neighbour.  At  Matuielito  there  was  a  white  trader  who  often  sold 
Navajo  bracelets  to  passengers  from  the  railway  trains  that  ran 
within  a  hundred  feet  or  less  of  his  door,  and  he  was  a  man  who 
prided  himself  on  "  square  "  dealing.  One  day  a  gentleman  who 
had  purchased  several  silver  bracelets  ru.shed  in  full  of  ire,  de- 
manding the  return  of  his  money  for  the  worthless  bracelets  which 
he  threw  upon  the  counter.  They  were  copper.  The  trader  took 
down  a  string  containing  a  number,  from  which  the  returned  ones 
had  been  originally  taken,  aud  which  he  had  purchased  for  silver, 


\', 


I'i 


'.m 


'If 


i 


i^ifl 


v^: 


t  Is 


I     I 
I 


.r^h 


1 

Hi 


296 


The   Xorth-Am(!ricans  of  Ycstcrchi}' 


and  found  that  c-v(.r\-  one  was  copper.  Tliey  had  been  ill  inly 
washed  over  1)\-  the  Navajo  smith  with  silver. 

It  has  sometimes  been  suKK<-'Sted  that  llie  Navajos  learned 
their  metal-working  from  tlie  Pueblos,  but  if  so  it  was  a  lesson  ob- 
tained in  i|nite  modern  limes,  for  the  Pueblos  themselves,  as  has 
been  mentioned,  appear  to  have  known  nothing  about  the  wak- 
ing of  metals  before  the  arrival  (^f  the  .Spaniards.  The  art  of  melal- 
W'orking  both  among  the  Xa\'ajos  and  the  Pueblos  is  probabl\-  a 
modern  acquisition.  Washington  Matthews,  writing  about  1SS3, 
saws:  "  Old  white  residents  of  the  Xavajo  country  tell  me  that 
the  art  has  improved  greatly  within  their  recollection."  '  It  is 
likely  that  the  Na\-ajos,  having  a  keen  perception  of  mechanical 
matters,  had  wrought  copper  to  a  limited  degree  and  that  through 
their  intercourse  with,  and  absorption  of,  Pueblo  tribes,  this  tend- 
enc\-  was  developed  by  a  certain  amount  of  knowledge  in  this  line 
which  the  Pueblos  acquired  from  Mexicans  who  followed  in  the 
train  of  the  early  Spanish  exjilorers  ;  but  this  skill  was  not  uixen 
a  real  impetus  till  after  the  »South-west  fell  \uU)  our  })ossessioii, 
when  tools  and  trade  rapidly  developed." 

When  in  1S71  I  encountered  Xavajos  for  the  first  time,  on 
their  way  to  trade  with  the  Mormons,  I  do  not  remember  seeing 
them  ha\'e  any  silver  ornaments.  This  was  so  soon  after  liieir 
liberation  from  government  confinement  following  their  war  willi  us 
that  they  were,  naturally,  very  poor.  But  if  they  had  before  pos- 
sessed much  silver  they  would  have  concealed  it.  and  by  the  time  I 
.saw  the  ones  referred  to  they  wcndd  again  have  been  wearing  it 
and  tr\ing  to  trade  it  for  horses,  which  the\-  sadly  needed.  The 
Xavajo  silver-work  is  distinguished  b_\-  an  extremely  artistic  qual- 
ity. Their  tools  and  apiiliances  are  very  rude  and  simple.  As 
their  method  of  operation  is  proba])ly  similar  to  that  of  Amerinds 
who  have  not  been  observed  as  closely,  I  will  conden.se  here  some 
of  the  important  details  as  given  b\-  Washington  Matthews.^ 
Only  a  few  have  attained  a  degree  of  proficiency   that   enables 

'  Wasliinjftoii  Matthews,  "Navajo  Silversmiths,"  Srcond  Ann.  A'epf. 
/>'//.  /:7//.,  p.  171. 

-  Tlie  tribes  of  the  North-west  made  .some  gold  and  silver  ornaments,  and 
at  Sitka  to-day  there  is  a  jewelry  establishment  kept  by  a  native  Tlinkit,  who 
makes  most  of  his  own  silverware. 

•' \Vashinj.llon  Matthews,  "Navajo  vSilversmiths,"  Second  Ann.  Rept. 
Bii.  Eth.,  p.  172. 


T 


U.  S.  Nat.  Mu. 

KWAKIUTI,    CIIIKK    HOI.DINC,    ins    COI'I'KK,    NORIM  r-WKST    COAST 

The  value  of  a  copper  is  expressed  in  white  single  blankets  of  American  make  at  50  cents  cm  h.  !• 
is  rated  according  to  the  amount  of  property  given  away  at  the  festival  where  the  copper  is 
sold,  and  each  sale  adds  to  its  value  proportionally.  He  who  can  break  a  copper  and  cast  au  ay 
the  fragment  is  considered  great 


'  '1   ■ 


J"* 
Ml 


ni'i 


2(J7 


t-l 


!i 


11 


29<S  The  North- Americans  of  \'estertlay 

them  to  make  lar^e  liollow  articles,  like  flasks  and  the  like,  hut 
there  are  many  who  can  turn  out  bracelets,  buttons,  buckles,  etc. 
Their  appliances  consist  "  of  a  torj^e,  a  bellows,  an  anvil,  crucibles, 
n-.)ul{ls,  tonjijs,  scissors,  jjliers,  files,  awls,  cohl  chisels,  matrix  and 
die  for  moulding';  l)Uttons,  woodeti  impK-ments  used  in  sfii'dinji;  but- 
tons, wooden  stake,  basin,  charcoal,  tools  and  materials  f)rsolder- 
inj4'  (blow-pipe,  braid  of  cotton  raj^s  soaked  in  grease,  wire,  and 
borax),  materials  for  polishing  (sandpaper,  emery  paper,  powdered 
sandstone,  sand,  ashes,  and  solid  stone),  and  materials  for  whiten- 
ing (a  native  mineral  substance  —  almogen  —  salt  and  water)." 
The  forge  is  built  up  with  several  old  boards,  an  old  box,  or,  when 
these  cannot  be  procured,  of  slicks.  The  nozzle  of  the  bellows, 
being  wood,  is  kept  back  from  the  fire  several  inches  and  a  contin- 
uation built  in  the  mud  with  which  the  fire-bed  is  constructed. 
The  bellows  is  a  tube  of  goatskin,  a  foot  long  and  ten  inches  in 
diameter,  distended  by  two  or  three  wooden  hoops.  The  back  of 
it  is  a  disc  of  wood  with  a  valve  in  it.  The  nozzle  is  of  four  ])ieces 
of  wood  tied  together  and  having  a  hole  an  inch  square  through 
the  centre,  the  outside  being  dressed  off  till  it  is  approximately 
round.  Any  old  jiiece  of  in)n,  like  the  king-bolt  of  a  wagon,  driven 
into  a  log  .serves  for  an  anvil,  though  in  the  absence  of  this  a  hard 
stone  is  sufficient.  They  make  their  own  crucibles  of  cIp  gener- 
ally three-cornered,  about  two  inches  in  every  dimei  and 
baked  hard.  "  The  moulds  in  which  they  cast  their  ingots,  cut  in 
.soft  sandstone  with  a  home-made  chisel,  are  so  easily  formed  that 
the  smith  leaves  them  behind  when  be  moves  his  residence." 
"  Metallic  hemispheres  for  beads  and  buttons  are  made  in  a  con- 
cave matrix  by  means  of  a  round-pointed  bolt."  Several  matrices 
are  made  on  a  single  bar  of  iron  and  a  bolt  that  will  fit  the  small- 
est is  sufficient  to  work  all.  They  prepare  charcoal  by  building  a 
large  fire,  and  when  it  is  "  reduced  to  a  mass  of  glowing  coals  they 
smother  it  well  with  earth  and  leave  it  to  cool."  Blowpipes  are 
made  by  them.selves  out  of  brass  wire  hammered  flat  and  then  bent 
into  a  tube.  The  engraving  and  chasing  of  the  objects  made  are 
done  with  the  sharpened  end  of  a  file,  or  any  other  suitable  .sharp 
piece  of  steel.  It  will  be  seen  from  the  foregoing  that  the  Navajo  .sil- 
versmith is  dependent  to  a  very  great  extent  on  materials  and 
tools  obtained  from  the  whites,  and  without  these  the  practice  of 
his  art  would  be  difficult.  Schools  for  mechanical  processes  like 
dyeing,  metai-working,  etc.,  would  accomplish  much  good  among 


''I'  I, 


Milling",    MctallurL^y,   and   Sciciict; 


U)C) 


tliL'Sf  people.     'riie>'  couUl  readily  be  taught  t"  ;he  lathe  aiul 

other  tools,  ami  would  become  good  metal-vvoi 

Prescott  says  of  the  Mexicans :  "  They  were  as  well  ae- 
(piaiuted  with  the  mineral  as  with  the  vegetable  treasures  of 
their  kingdom.  vSilver,  lead,  and  tin  they  drew  from  the  mines 
ofTasco;  copper  from  the  mountains  of  Zacolollan.  These  were 
taken,  not  only  from  the  crude  masses  on  the  surface,  but  from 
\eins  wrought  in  the  solid  rock,  into  which  they  opened  extensive 
galleries.  .  .  .  Gold,  found  on  the  surface,  or  gleaned  from 
the  beds  of  rivers,  was  cast  into  bars,  or,  in  the  form  of  dust,  made 
part  of  the  regular  tribute  of  the  southern  provinces  of  the  em- 
pire." '  Their  mining  was  doubtless  carried  on  \)\  the  fire-and- 
water  process  u.sed  by  the  Northern  people,  while  gold  from  the 
river  beds  was  possibly  obtained  in  much  the  same  manner  as 
I  luive  been  told  the  Amerinds  of  Peru  get  it.  Selecting  a  ri\'er 
that  was  known  to  be  rich  in  the  metal,  a  .series  of  .stone  "  rillles" 
would  be  arranged  in  the  best  place  at  the  very  lowest  stage  of  the 
water.  Then  when  the  freshets  came  and  swept  the  gravel  acro.ss 
these  rude  affairs  the  gold  would  remain  lodged  there  and  on  the 
subsidence  of  the  stream  could  be  readily  taken  out.  There  was 
undoubtedly  avast  qu  .ntityof  gold  in  the  possession  of  the  Mexi- 
cans and  Central  Americans,  but  this  fact  does  not  .signify  that 
they  conducted  mining  operations  on  a  large  or  continuous  scale, 
for  the  metal  had  been  accumulating,  in  the  shape  of  idols  and 
ornaments,  for  centuries.  There  was  little  lost  or  worn  awa>-,  as 
they  did  not  use  it  as  a  general  medium  of  exchange.  Their 
Illumes  in  their  head  dresses  were  often  set  in  gold  ;  rings  of  gold 
were  worn  in  their  ears  and  on  their  arms,  and  the  same  metal  was 
wrought  into  a  great  many  forms  of  ornament. 

Cortes  ordered,  .says  Valentini.  eight  thousand  arrow-heads  of 
copper  and  they  were  "  made  ready  for  delivery  in  a  single  week." 
It  seems,  therefore,  the  Aztecs  were  accustomed  to  handling  copper 
in  considerable  quantities.  It  is  .said  they  made  a  mixture  of  cop- 
per and  tin  which  they  used  for  tools,  and  certain  implements  and 
oi)jects  are  found  with  a  percentage  of  tin  in  them,  but  neverthe- 
less their  keenest  weapons  and  their  mo.st  .serviceable  tools  were 
made  of  obsidian,  which  was  also  the  case  with  the  Mayas.  Their 
hardened  copper  was  useful  for  some  purposes,  but  they  were  un- 
able to  harden  it  sufficiently  to  sustain  an  edge.  For  cutting 
'  Prescott,  Mexico,  vol.  i.,  p.  138. 


'  t,j; 


.  1 


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11 


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5) 

iOO 


riic  North-Americans  of  Yesterday 


stone  in  two  they  used,  as  the  Kskinio  does  to-day,  a  thin  blade 
and  sand.  In  their  case  the  blade  was  copper  tempered  with  tin, 
and  in  the  ivskimo's  case  it  was  formerly  probably  a  th'n  blade  of 
bone,  while  now  it  is  an  old  steel  saw.  Silver  as  well  as  gold  and 
copper  was  known  to  the  tribes  of  the  Central  regif)ns  of  America, 
and  lead  also  was  one  of  their  metals,  though  little  was  done  with 
il.  There  is  a  tendency  to  exaggerate  the  mechanical  as  well 
as  the  art  skill  displayed  in  objects  that  were  made  on  this  conti- 
nent, before  the  whites  came,  or  that  were  not  discovered  till 
recently.  The  rea.son  for  this  .seems  to  be  that  we  love  mystery 
and  \'..  is  too  tan;e  to  refer  the  finds  to  the  ordinary  "Indian," 
who  in  the  popular  mind  has  no  ability  in  any  direction,  .so  tlie\- 
are  ascribed  U>  that  "  mysterious  "  race  that  we  have  tried  in  vain 
to  find  .some  evidence  of  besides  mystery.  Daniel  Wilson  gives 
an  example  of  how  this  mystery  bubble  bursts  on  the  slightest 
accurate  investigation.  Gome  tools  were  found  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Brockville,  Canada,  of  which  Dr.  Reynolds,  who 
exhibited  them,  stated:  "There  is  also  a  curious  fact,  which 
lhe.se  relics  appear  tv)  confirm,  that  the  Indians  possessed  tbe  art 
of  hardening  and  tempering  copper,  .so  as  to  give  it  as  g()<)d  ;in 
itilge  as  iron  or  steel.  This  ancient  Indian  art  is  now  enlirel\- 
lost."  '  When  these  Brockville  relics  were  submitted  to  careful 
exaviiination  it  appeared  that  they  were  not  "  different  in  any 
mruerial  respect  from  the  native  copper  of  Lake  Superior."  ■'  This 
w:is  all  very  well,  but  Wilson  was  not  satisfied  with  Reynolds's 
ascribing  these  relics  to  the  "  pre.sent  Indian  race"  and  goes  on 
to  say  :  "The  evidences  of  antique  .seprUure,  however,  are  lui- 
mistakable  :  and  other  proofs  suggest  a  different  origir  '  and  he 
proceeds  to  call  in  Squier's  aid  and  ascribes  them  forthwith  to  our 
fabulous  friends,  the  "  Moundbuilders."  One  of  hi'-'  proofs  was  a 
terra-cotta  ma.sk  found  with  the  articles,  in  which  he  saw  a  skill 
beyond  that  of  the  "  Indians."  but  which  in  reality,  judging  by 
tlie  illustration  he  gives  of  it,  is  nothing  remarkable.  Yel  Wilson 
continues  :  "  It  cannot  admit  of  doubt  that  in  them  [the  mining 
operation.s]  we  look  on  the  traces  of  an  imperfectly  developed  \  et 
highly  interesting  native  civilisation,  pertaining  to  centuries  long 
anterior  to  the  (uscovery  of  America  in  the  fifteenth  century,"  * 

'  Daniel  Wilson,  Prehistoric  Man,  vol.  i.,  pp.  213-215. 
■^  Ibid.,  p.  216. 
•'//)/</.,  p.  218. 


Minino-,   Metallurgy,  and  Science 


o 


oi 


etc.  This  conclusion  he  is  assisted  to  hy  certain  quotations  from 
some  of  tlie  old  natives  and  fr(,>m  Claude  Allouez.  These  convince 
him  ;  but  a  little  later  on  he  quotes  Alexander  Henry's  mention 
of  his  visit  to  the  Ontonagon,  who  says  :  "  I  found  this  river 
cliiefly  remarkable  for  the  abundance  of  virgin  copper  which  is  on 
its  banks  and  in  its  neighbourhood.  The  copper  presented  itself 
to  the  eye  in  mas.ses  of  various  weight.  The  Indians  showed  me 
one  of  twenty  pounds.  They  were  used  to  manufacture  this  metal 
into  spoons  and  bracelets  for  themselves."  '  If  thev  made  brace- 
lets and  spoons,  they  probably  made  other  articles,  "  melling  the 
lumiis  and  spreading  it  in  sheets"  to  smooth  it  with  stones,  as  the 
chief  described  to  Champlain. 

Tlie  Chiriquians  seem  to  have  possessed  a  skill  in  metallurgi- 
cal operations  unsurpassed  by  any  other  people  on  the  continent. 
Whetlier  they  used  gold  dust  in  quills,  and  T  shapes  of  tin  or 
copper  for  currency  as  did  the  Mexicans,  does  not  appear,  but  they 
were  skilled  in  metal-working.  They  understood  smelting,  alien- 
ing, and  plating,  and  apparently  were  extremely  .skilful  at  cast- 
ing. As  before  noted,  no  weapons  or  implements  have  been  found 
of  metal,  all  the  metal  objects  being  ornaments,  and  "  almost  ex- 
clusively," .says  Holmes.  "  pendent  ornaments."  "  They  were,  for 
the  most  part,  cast  in  moulds,  and  in  nine  ca.ses  out  of  ten  repre- 
sent animal  forms.  A  few  bells  are  found,  all  of  which  are  bronze. 
Pieces  formed  of  alloyed  metal  are  usually  washed  or  jilated  with 
gold."  '  Many  of  these  valuable  relics  of  the  pa.st  have  been  dis- 
])osi.(l  of  for  their  money  value  and  duly  melted  up  to  be  made  into 
.something  modern.  The  gold  is  usually  alloyed  with  copper  in 
varying  proportions,  though  pure  metals  were  also  used.  From 
the  fact  that  the  alloy  is  .so  variable  it  would  seem  that  the  combi- 
nation already  exi.-.ted  before  it  came  into  the  Chiriquian  hands  ; 
tiiat  is.  it  was  perhaps  a  natural  coml)ination. 

Holmes  believes  almost  all  these  metal  objects  were  cast  in 
moukls.  as  noted,  but  he  mentions  other  i)rocesses  by  which  the\- 
may  have  been  made.  The\-  have  the  ajipearance  of  having  l)een 
modelled  in  some  plr(-;tic  material,  and  then  coated  with  clay,  when 
l)y  the  action  of  heac  the  wax  runs  a\va\-,  leax'ing  the  hollow  clay 
as  a  mould  to  receive  the  metal.     This  is  the  circ  perdue  process. 

'  Daniel  Wilson,  Prehistoric  Man,  vol.  i.,  p.  222. 

■  W.  H.  Holmes,  "  .\ncient  Art  of  the  Province  of  Chiriqui,"  Si.vt/i 
Ann.  Rept.  Bu.  Eth.,  p.  186. 


iS: 


! 


1,5 


mm 


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i 


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i 


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I 


iii 


302  The   North- Americans  of  Yesterday 

vSinall  figures  of  resin,  in  all  respects  modelled  like  those  found  in 
metal,  have  been  discovered  in  the  graves.  This  seems  to  add  to 
the  probability  of  a  Chiriqui  acquaintance  with  \.\\^ciyc perdue  pro- 
cess. Another  method  suggested  is  that  the  various  metallic  parts 
of  a  figure  were  enclosed  in  a  clay  matrix  and  then  heated  till  the 
parts  melted  and  joined,  but  this  appears  to  be  too  uncertain  and 
difficult  to  have  warranted  its  practice.  Still  another  method  ad 
vanced  is  the  coating  of  a  wax  figure  with  sheet  gold  and  meltinu 
the  wax,  when  a  hollow  gold  figure  would  be  the  result.  This 
possible  but  not  probable.  Yet  one  more  suggestion  is  that  the  gold 
was  reduced  to  an  amalgam  with  mercury,  and  Mms  modelled,  when 
the  mercury  being  driven  off  by  heat  the  gold  figure  would  remain. 

One  difficulty  with  this  the- 
ory seems  to  be  that  there  is 
no  evidence  that  the  Chiri- 
quians  knew  mercury.     As 


is 


U.  S.  Bu.  Eth. 
TRIPLE  BELL  OR  RATI  LE  OF  COLD  FROM 
NEAR  I'ANAMA 


BRONZE  MEXICAN  BELL 


many  of  the  objects  are  washed  or  plated  with  pure  gold,  it  would 
seetn  that  the  pure  gold  was  the  most  diflScult  to  obtain,  and  that,  as 
before  stated,  the  gold-copper  alloy  was  a  natural  one.  There  is 
neither  engraving  nor  carving  on  these  objects ;  and  the  objects 
themselves  are  the  same  crude  productions  that  are  indicative 
of  pure  Amerind  art  everywhere  on  the  continent.  Some  are  more 
crude  than  others,  but  all  Amerind  sculpture,  modelling,  and  carv- 


ii 


Mining-,   Metallurgy,  and  Science 


303 


ti^^^ 


ing  are  essentially  rude  and  primitive.  In  the  form  and  artistic 
execution  of  the  Chiriqui  objects  of  sold  and  copper  we  may  be 
positive  that  there  is  no  European  influence,  whatever  there  ma\ 
be  in  the  method  of  production.  It  is  probable  that  the  objects 
are  entirely  native,  and  they  offer  another  lesson  that  the  tribes  of 
North  America  were  everywhere  working  and  inventing,  and 
graduall}- conquering  the  .secrets  of  nature  just  as  our  ancestors 
did  and  just  as  we  are  still  doing  to-day  ;  .some  doing  more,  others 
less  ;  some  being  quick,  and  others  clumsy,  ignorant,  and  dull.  The 
bells  are  usually  of  bronze,  having  the  shape  of  our  common  sleigh- 
bell,  and  are  frequently  gold-plated.  The  bells  found  in  Arizona 
are  of  this  de.scription  but  not  plated. 

Besides  their  .sciences  of  mining  and  metallurgy,  the  Amer- 
inds understood  some  others,  like  the  maraifacture  of  glue  antl 
cement,  the  production  of  paints  and  d>es,  and  astronomical 
reckonings.  True,  .some  of  these  are  more  projierly  classed  as 
arts,  but  requiring  knowledge  that  may  be  called  scientific,  they 
ma}^  be  considered  under  that  head.  Paints  were  usually  obtained 
from  clays  and  ochres.  I  once  traced  to  its  source  the  red  paint 
formerly  used  by  the  Amerinds  of  .southern  Utah  and  found  it  in 
the  .second  great  bend  of  the  Colorado  River,  about  three  thousand 
feet  below  the  surface  and  about  two  thousand  feet  above  the  river, 
as  the  canyon  is  there  about  five  thousand  feet  deep.  The  paint 
was  in  a  cave  the  mouth  of  which  opened  on  a  little  gulch,  and  the 
entrance  was  .so  small  and  narrow,  and  in  such  hard  rock,  that  we 
could  barely  wriggle  our  way  on  our  bellies,  along  the  eighteen  feet 
of  passage,  before  w  reached  the  cavern,  thirty  fett  long,  fifteen 
wide,  and  high  enougW  (or  a  man  to  stand  ereci  m.  There  were 
.several  side  passages  leading  f"  iher,  ])ut  thi^  seemed  to  be  the  main 
cave,  and  all  over  the  walls  were  tl  e  marks  c  the  sharp  sticks  with 
which  the  Amerinds  cut  out  the  ochre.  Our  guide  stated  that  it 
was  customary  to  send  in  the  boys  and  squaws  after  the  paint. 
The  ochre  was  of  a  rich  red,  but  no  m  itch  for  the  red  lead  and 
vermilion  obtained  by  trade  with  the  whites.  The  remote  and 
difficult  position  of  this  cave  and  its  narrow  a.id  repelling  en- 
trance .show  how  eager  the  natives  were  '  .secure  paint.  At 
the  time  of  our  visit,  however,  the  mouth  a  as  considerably  over- 
grown with  small  bru.sh,  proving  that  for  .several  years  no  visit  had 
been  made.  In  every  region  there  were  special  places  for  obtain- 
ing paints,  and  Brinton  .states  that  in  New  Castle  County,  Dela- 


1! 


I'i 


It . 


m 


111 


tM 


304 


The   North-Americans  of  Yesterday 


■      !: 


"''  i 


Ml 


I     Hi 


<l!  i! 


ware,  tlie  vicinity  of  streams  now  known  as  Wliite  Clay  and  Red 
Jlay  creeks  furnished  red,  white,  and  blue  clays  in  such  abund- 
ance that  they  were  called  by  the  natives  W^alaviink,  or  Place  of 
Paint.'     Charcoal  was  used  for  black. 

Of  dyes  they  had  a  fair  assortment,  but  they  were  not  able  to 
obtain  the  brilliant  hues  they  now  secure  by  means  of  the  "  Dia- 


''.  i<:i.  I'. III. 

IIKON/.K    HKI.I.S,    I'l.AlKI)    OR    U  ASHI-D   WirH   COI-P,   CIIIKH.H'I 
These  were  cast  in  moulds,     'i'he  largest  is  ij<i  in.  high  and  '4  in.  diameter 

niond  "  atid  other  aniline  dyes.  A  black  dye  was  made  by  the 
Xavajos  from  the  twigs  and  leaves  of  the  aromatic  sumac,  a  native 
\ellow  ochre,  and  the  gum  of  the  piiion."  These  same  Amerinds 
have  three  different  processes  for  dyeing  yellow.  The  first  pro- 
duces a  lemon  yellow,  the  second  an  old  gold,  and  the  third  still  a 
different  shade. 

Red  dyes  are  also  made  by  the  Navajos  ;  and  the  Mokis  pos.se.ss 
tlie  skill  to  produce  several  colours,  one  being  a  deep,  rich  blue. 
The.se  processes  are  all  too  long  to  admit  of  description  here."  The 
Lenape  and  other  Kastern  .Amerinds  used  the  juice  of  the  wild, 
sweet-scented  cral)  aj'ple  to  fix  the  dyes,  while  among  the  Mokis 
th'j  licpiid  generally  us,  d  is  urine.  It  must  have  required  long 
;in(l  careful  experiment  hLt'ore  the.se  people  acquired  their  knowl- 
edge of  dyeing,  for  some  of  the  preparations  are  rather  intricately 

'  Hrintoa,  77/r  Lcna[)t\  p.  53. 

'•' Washiiip.ton  :\Iatth(,'\vs,  "Navajo  Weavers,"  Third  Ann.  Rcpt.  />n. 
f-'/i.,  p.  376. 

■' Sqiiier  (lescril)es  a  Tvrian  purple  of  various  shades  secured  iu  Nicara- 
i^ua  froui  the  luurcy  shellfish  by  a  slow  and  tedious  process;  see  his  Nicara- 
■:iiay  p.  286. 


X 


Minirii^r,    Metalliircry,   and   Science 


.>o5 


conipouiided,  Init  here  is  evidence  once  more  tliat  the  AnRriiul  was 
by  no  means  a  vagabond,  but  was  constantly  at  work  devising  and 
inventing.  CAue  they  made  from  lish  in  souk-  localities,  and  in 
others  by  boiling  down  the  skin  from  the  head  of  the  bison  or  elk, 
or  the  hoofs  of  animals.  Cement  for  attaching  arrow-heads  and 
tor  other  purposes  was  made  by  combining  pine  gum  with  other 
substances.  In  all  these  mixtures  and  combinations  ihe  i)r()por- 
tions  were  either  guessed  at  or  measured,  never  weighed,  for  there 
was  no  .scale  or  balance  in  use,  .so  far  as  now  known,  in  North 
America,  though  certain  round  .stones  from  Mexico  in  Madrid 
have  been  suppo.sed  to  be  weights. 

Remarkable  progress  had  been   made  in   many  tribes  in  the 
matter  of  calculatitig  time,  and  the  Mayas  and  Mexicans  had  ad- 
vanced .so  far  that  they  were  able  to  calculate  the  length  of  the 
year  with   accuracy.       What  implements  they   employed   is  not 
known,  but  they  were  probably  of  wood  and  stone,  the  latter  of 
the  form  of  the  calendar  stone,  before  mentioned.    Other  tribes  far- 
ther north  made  their  calculations  in  a  less  perfect  wav,  yet  they 
did  and  do  keep  time  records.     The  vSun  priests  of  the  Mokis  use 
"what  may  be  called  a  calendar  slick,"    says  Fewkes.      "These 
sticks  are  about  a  foot  and  a  half  long,  and  are  divided  into  two 
parts,  one  .section  being  round,  the  other  flattened  on  one  .side. 
The  round  .section  is  girt  by  fifteen  shallow  parallel  grooves,  and 
occupies  about  a  third  of  the  whole  length  of  the  stick.      The  re- 
maining two-thirds  of  the  .stick  have  a  number  of  parallel  grnoxes 
or  notches  cut   upon   the   flattened   surface.      Pive  of  the  latter 
grooves,  which  are  .situated  at  equal  distances,  are  deeper  than  the 
remaining,  and  between  each  pair  there  are  four  smaller  parallel 
grooves  arranged  at  ecpial  distances.     The  sjxice  in  which  these 
grooves  are  c:\\.  occupies  about  one-half  of  the  flat  portion  of  the 
stit^k.     The  remaining  half,  or  that  more  distant  from  the  round 
section,  is  divided  into  two  parts,  which  are  separated  by  a  rectan- 
gular .space,  in  the  centre  of  which  there  is  a  depre.s.sion  called  the 
na-ta-l-tci.     On  one  .side  of  the  depre.s.sion  there  are  three  notches, 
on  the  other  .seven."  '     The  Kastern  Amerinds  com])ule(l  time  in 
their  own  .several  ways,  .some  computing  twelve,  others  thirteen 
moons  to  the  year,  usually  reckoning  from  one  ])lanting  time  to 
another.  The  Dakotas,  Chipeways,  and  others  reckoned  by  winters. 
In  the  Zuni  country,  still  existed  a   few  years  ago,  if  it  does 
'  Dr.  J.  Walter  Fewkes, /(;//;-«<?/  of  American  Folk-Lore,  vol.ii.,  p.  151. 


%\ 


f 


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if,  i; 


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tlrt 


■I, 


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.1  I 


306  The   North-Americans  of  Yesterday 

not  to-day,  a  primitive  astronomical  station.  It  is  a  rude  little 
structure  containing  an  erect  slab  of  sandstone  adorned  with  the 
circular  face  of  the  sun,  and  it  is  used,  as  it  was  long  ago,  for  de- 
termining the  Zuni  chronology. 

The  Aztec  year  had  eighteen  months  of  twenty  days  each  and 
that  of  the  Mayas  was  the  same.  The  Maya  week  had  thirteen 
days,  and  the  days  were  counted  from  one  to  thirteen  continuously 
throughout  the  year — that  is,  each  month  did  not  begin  with  i 
but  with  whatever  number  happened  to  fall  on  that  day  ;  it  might 
be  2  or  5  or  8  or  13  or  in  fact  any  number  up  to  13.  The  eighteen 
months  gave  them  only  360  days,  but  they  intercalated  at  the  end 
of  each  year  the  five  days  necessary  to  round  it  out.  At  least  so 
the  early  Spanish  writers  state,  though  Thomas,  who  has  given 
close  attention  to  this  subject,  has  said  that  he  felt  doubtful  on  tliat 
point.'  Prescott  states  without  question,  concerning  the  Aztecs  : 
"  Five  complementary  days,  as  in  Egypt,  were  added,  to  make  up 

the  full  number  of  three 
hundred  and  sixty-five. 
They  belonged  to  no 
month  and  were  regard- 
ed as  peculiarly  unlucky. 
A  month  was  divided 
into  four  weeks  of  five 
days  each."  ' 

The  six  hours  over 
the  365  days  which  we 
make  up  in  our  leap  year 
the  Aztecs  allowed  to  run 
to  the  end  of  their  fifty- 
two  year  cycle,  when  they 
intercalated  it  all  at  one 
time,  the  actual  period 
being  twelve  and  one 
half  days.  This  brought  them  "within  an  almost  inappreciable 
fraction,"  says  Prescott,  "  to  the  exact  length  of  the  tropical  \ear, 
as  established  by  the  most  accurate  observations."  '     The  Aztecs 

•Cyrus  Thomas,  SLrf/i  Ann.  Rept.  Bu.  Eth.,  p.  271. 

•i  Prescott,  iMe.viro   \  ( 1.  i.,  p.   1 1 1. 

■^ Ibid.,  p.  112.  The  intercalation  of  these  \2%  or  13  days  is  denied  by 
Payne,  History  oj  the  AVri'  World,  vol.  ii.,  ))p.  294-316  et  seq.,  but  Mrs. 
Zelia  Nuttall  and  other  eminent  scholars  are  certain  thev  were  intercalated. 


U.  S.  Bu.  Kth. 


^ide  view 


S.MAI. I.   MKT.M.    I'ICUKF,    CIllKlnLI 
C"Ppcr-gold  alloy 


J 


iMinin.LT,  Metallurgy,  and  Science  ;o7 

had  a  second  calendar  used  by  the  priests  for  keeping  their  own 
records  and  making  their  own  calculations,  and  doubtless  the 
Maya  had  the  same  practice. 

The  Cakchiquel  year  consisted  of  366  days.  That  of  the  Maya 
was  365.  The  former,  therefore,  says  Goodman,  "could  have  no 
fixed  date  for  its  beginning,  relative  to  solar  or  terrestrial  phe- 
nomena, but  must  revolve  regularly  througii  the  seasons. 
The  year  might  begin  at  the  summer  or  the  winter  solstice,' at  the 
vernal  or  the  autumnal  equinox,  or  any  other  period."  ' 

A  great  Maya  event,  which  Goodman  cites,  was   "  the  observ- 
ance of  the  280.800th  year  of  their  era.      .      .      .      Nearly  all  the 
other  dates  in  the  inscriptions  of  Copan  and  Quirigua  either  lead 
up  to  or  recede  from  it.     It  was  the  beginning  of  the  last  quarter 
of  their  grand  era,  the  completion  of  which,  it  is  perhaps  needless 
to  say,   they  did  not,  as  a  nation,  live  to  see."  '     But  when  we 
touch  this  subject  of  chronology  it  at  once  opens  up  a  vast  and 
complicated  field  of    investigation.      Goodman  goes  on  to  say  : 
"  How  account  then  for  such  an  innnense  period  ?      .     .     .      Tlie 
most  reasonable  answer  that  suggests  itself  is  that  they  had  a 
juster  appreciation  of  the  antiquity  of  the  earth  than  most  nations 
have  had,  and  that  they  l)egan  their  chronologv  with  the  supposed 
date  of  its  creation.     ...     I  l„ok  upon  the  Mava  clironological 
scheme  as  ranking  among  the  most  marvellous  creations  of  the 
human  intellect."  ' 

'  Goodman,  Biologia  Coitrali  Aiiteiicana,  part  viii.,  pp.  5,  8. 


r.  S.  Ku.  Kth. 

siLVF.R  I'l.Ai  r,  wnir  si'.wisir  coat  or  arms, 

from  :i  iiiouiui  i:i  Mississippi 


I,  I 

i\ 


^i 


i 


m 

( 

iHii 

X      i 

1 

t 

1 

I 


U.  S.  liu.  Ktli. 
MOKl     kAl  Il.l';    t)l'     ANIMAl,    IliloKS.       ^ 


CHAPTER  XI 


:\IUSICAT.   TNSTRUMKNTS,    MUSIC,    AMrSi;Mi:xTS,    AND   GA:MKS 


I-    I 


THE  popular  conception  that  there  is  no  fun  in  red  men  is  erro 
neons.  All  of  them,  far  from  l^eing  taciturn,  silent,  morose, 
and  lacking  desire  for  amusement  other  than  scalping  or 
torturing  captives,  are  full  of  humour  and  are  fond  of  fmi.  To 
strangers,  however,  they  are  often  silent.  In  every  village  there  is 
a  great  deal  of  amn.sement,  and  while  the  race  is  deficient  in  nuisi- 
cal  instruments,  and  the  music  they  produce,  if  it  can  be  designa- 
ted by  that  term,  is  usually  apart  of  some  ceremonial,  they  do  sing 
and  the  singing  is  accompanied  by  rattles  and  drums.  Tlie.se  in.stru- 
ments,  with  a  sort  of  flute  or  flageolet  and  bells  and  whistles, 
make  the  sum-total  of  their  musical  apparatus.  No  stringed  in- 
strument, it  was  believed,  was  known  on  the  North  American  con- 
tinent before  the  Discovery,  though  recently  Lundioltz  has  found 
a  primitive  musical  bow  among  the  Huichols  in  Mexico  that  .seems 
ti)  sliow  no  outside  influence.  Their  drums  were  usually  made  out 
of  a  hollow  log  and  were  of  various  sizes,  though  .some  tribes  also 
used  a  sort  of  tambourine-drum  formed  by  .stretching  a  piece 
of  hide  over  a  hoop.  In  the  case  of  the  Mokis,  the  large  drum  was 
made  by  stretching  hide  over  the  ends  of  a  hollow  log  by  means  of 
strings  on  the  outside  running  from  the  edge  o^one  skin  to  that  of 

308 


Musical   InstrunuMits,   AniiistMiKMits,   aiul   Games     y^t, 

the  other,  zij;-/ag.  These  drunis  arc  about  twenty  inches  in  cham- 
eter  by  some  three  feet  h)ng,  and  the  ones  I  liave  seen  had  an  aji- 
pearance  of  age  tliat  seemed  to  inchcate  a  remote  origin.  Rattles 
are  frequently  made  from  deer  hoofs,  or  from  iioofs  of  similar  ani- 
mals, and  also  from  turtle  shells,  and  garments  are  trinnned  with 
hoofs  so  that  the  movements  of  the  wearer  cause  tiieui  to  strike 


Gourd,  Ojibwa 
U.  S.  Bu.  Eth. 


Earthenware  rattle  from  Chiriqiii.     Jj 
AMKKINDIAN    K.V  I'll.KS 


Tin,  Ojibwa 


together  with  a  musical  sound.  vSometimes  the  hoofs  are  attached 
in  groups  of  three  or  more  to  the  ends  of  a  short  stick  which  is 
shaken  to  produce  the  desired  sound.  This  is  a  form  specially  in 
vogue  among  the  Tlinkits,  and  these  rattles  are  one  of  the  articles 
of  trade  with  the  tourists  in  the  North-west.  Another  form  is  a 
gourd  or  clay  globe  containing  pebbles  or  something  similar. 
Rattles  of  this  kind  are  common  in  the  ceremonials  of  the  Mokis. 
Bells,  as  we  have  seen  in  the  preceding  chapter,  were  made  by 
tribes  of  the  Central  American  region  of  copper  in  the  so-called 
"hawk's-bell"  shape,  but  it  is  not  absolutely  certain  that  this 


fi 


I 


V 


n 


I 

'Hi 

1; 
1-, 


1 


il 


ill ; '  f 
h  \  \ 


■'{ 


3IO 


The   North-AiiKiricans  of  Yesterday 


•/    ' 


fm  ! 


1  .) 


;i 


I 
i 


form  of  bell  was  not  derived  from  Kuropean  contact.'     No  other 
form  of  bell  was  known  to  any  of  the  natives. 

Whistles  were  made  of  potter\-  and  wood  and  of  lunnan  and 
other  bones,'^  and  were  similar  to  onr  common  whistles  with  one  or 
more  lioles  in  the  tnbe  for  changinj^  the  note.  The  flute 
was  of  wood,  generally  of  cedar,  which  is  considered 
a  sacred  wood.  It  was  eighteen  or  twenty  inches 
long  and  was  often  ornamented  with  carving 
and  tufts  of  feathers,  etc.  In  Mexico,  .some 
were  made  of  terra  cotta. 

It  is  certain  that  the  sounds  pro- 
duced on  these  various  instruments 
would   in   no  way   suggest  or 
resemble  what  is  luuler.stood 
by  music  among  people 
of  European  origin, 
and     it     is     also 
pro])able    that 
our    music 
w  h  e  n 
first 


U.  S.  lUi.  Kill. 

OMAHA   I.AKilE   FLUTE 


heard  ])y  Amerinds  seems  to  them  more 
like  wailing  and  lamentation  than  sounds 
of  pleasure.  I  remember  an  evening  long 
ago,  in  Arizona,  when  we  had  the  interest- 
ing companionship  of  .several  intelligent 
Navajo  chiefs,  who  entertained  us  by  sing- 
ing, accompanying  themselves  by  drum-  M.ide  of  red  cedar.  Fimes  were 
ming  on  the  bottom  of  one  of  our  camp        "'^"  "'='^«  of  e.-,gie  wing  b..ncs 

'  ;ind  of  reed 

kettles.     At  length  .someone  of  our  party 

exclaimed,   "  Now  let's  give  them  Home,  Sivect  Home,'"  and  this 

.song  was  accordingly  rendered  in  a  way  that  should  have  moved 

'  This  bell  is  supposed,  however,  to  have  developed  here  from  the  rattle. 

''  The  Peabody  Museum  contains  an  exhibit  of  forty-five  whistles  made 
of  bone,  all  found  together  in  one  basket.  They  were  wrapped  with  split 
reed  and  were  seven  to  ten  inches  in  length. 


Musical   Instruments,  Anuiscmcnts,  and  Games     311 

the  savage  to  tears,  hut,  tliough  the  firelight  was  hrilHaut,  I  failed 
to  (leleet  any  ;  indeed  their  expression  appeared  to  reseml)le  that 
whieh  a  professional  musician  of  our  own  race  might  have  exhib- 
ited. They  were  perfectly  satisfied  with  a  single  selection,  and 
they  politely  said  r>Hcno.  The  Xavajos  have  a  ]H-culiar  drum, 
the  l)asket  drum,  described  l)y  Washington  Matthews.'  it  is  a 
l)()wl->liaped  basket  made  according  to  special  rules  and  rites,  and 
inverteil  is  used  as  a  drum  in  certain  ceremonials,  being  beaten  by 
a  stick,  also  manufactured  in  a  .special  way.  and  according  to  long- 
established  religious  rites.  Whenever  a  cereinoii)  is  completed  this 
stick  is  always  pulled  apart  during  an  appropriate  song,  and  its 
Iragments  "deposited,  with  prayer  and  ceremony,  in  the  fork  of  ;i 
cedar  tree  or  other  secure  place."  It  is  made  from  yucca  leaves, 
four  being  the  ])re.scribed  number,  and  every  one  of  these  must  be 
absolutely  free  from  blemi.sh.  One  from  each  cardinal  i)oint  of  the 
compass  is  necessary,  and  the  making  of  the  drumstick  from  them 
is  a  .serious  matter,  even  the  rejected  fragments  Ijeing  dispo.sed  of 
in  some  safe  place  with  a  l)ene(liction  : 

"Tlius  will  it  he  beautifiil. 
Thus  w.ilk  in  heaiity,  niy  grandchild." 

"  In  none  of  the  ancient  Navajo  rites  is  a  regular  drum  or  tom- 
tom employed,"  says  Matthews.  "  The  inverted  basket  serves  the 
purpose  of  one." 

"The  musical  instruments,"  says  Bandelier,  "which,  while 
still  in  u.se  in  Mexico,  are  known  to  antedate  the  Coiupiest.  are  but 
three  in  number,  one  of  which  is  already  falling  into  oblivion.  Ii 
is  the  tozacatl  (sounding-cane),  described  to  me  as  a  long  cane,  bent 
round  like  an  Alpine  horn.  I  never  saw  one,  but  its  .sound  is  .said 
to  be  a  .sonorous  bellowing.  The  other  is  the  chhimia.  It  is  made 
of  dark  brown  wood,  called  ti'pchuajc,  brought  to  Cholula  from 
Matamoras-Yzucar,  or  near  Atlixco.  Its  length  is  0.46  metre 
(about  18  inches)  and  its  width  at  the  mouth  is  0.06  metre  fabout 
3  inches).  It  has  eleven  holes  irregularly  arranged,  and  the 
mouthpiece  is  a  thin  plate  of  horn  on  a  stem  of  l)rass.  The  noi.se 
produced  by  this  instrument  is  a  fit  accompaniment  to  the  shrill 
Inilian  voices,  being  horrible  beyond  all  description.  .  . 
The    big    drum,    the    tlaf>anhuehiicti    was    formerly    made    out 

'  \Vashin,^ton  MaUhews,  "The  Hasket  Drum,"  American  Antluo- 
poloi^ist,  O.  S.,  vol.  vii.,  No.  2,  April,  1S94. 


1 


tt) 

m 


^y 


■1; 


m 


n  ■ 


"I 


4PI  f 
Oil 


^ 


I 


12 


TIk!   Xoiih-Aincricans  of  NCslcrday 


H  ,!' 


of  ilie  trunk  <tt'  ;i  tree  prnpiily  liollowtd,  (>\cr  whicli,  at  dik' 
t'lid,  a  deerskin  or  some  other  dried  hide  was  stretelied.  All  the 
older  authors  niaki-  more  or  less  nieuliou  of  this  iiistriuneiU.  hut 
more  ]>;nticularl\    I'.iiiial  Die/  de  Castillo,  who  says,  when  desi-rih- 

iuj;  the  ui)i)er  platform  of 
the  priueipal  moun<l>  of 
worshij)  of  Mexico:  'Ami 
there  the\'  had  an  exeeed- 
in^ly  lai>;e  drum,  which, 
when  healen.  i;ave  a  >ounil 
as  if  from  the  inleinal  re- 
gions, which  was  heard  at 
more  than  two  league-  xiY. 
and  they  said  that  the  >kiu 
was  that  of  laij^e  snake>.'  "  ' 
The  ft'f>onaal/i  \\{\s  'iX  wood- 
en instrument  with  t\>o 
tonj^ues  that  were  beaten 
with  a  stick.  Conch  shells 
were  also  used  as  musical 
instruments.  vSomeof  the>e 
were  of  ver>"  great  size. 

The  Ivskimo  drum  is 
like  a  tand)()uriue.  a  >kii. 
.stretched  over  a  hoop.  .S(.iiie 
of  the  Chiriqui  whistles 
were  shaped  like  a  to]), 
while  others  were  .straight 
with  finger  holes.  These 
various  types  were  distri- 
buted over  the  whole  area 
of  the  continent,  the  drum 
and  the  rattle  always  ]>re- 
dominating. 

The    Amerind    singing 

at    first    seems    extremely 

monotonous  to  our  ears  and  the  impression  is  that  all  tribes  sing 

alike,  but  each  stock  has  its  own  methods  and  peculiarities.     \ 

fouudation  principle  with  all  in  the  men's  singing  .seems  to  be  an 

'  A.  I'\  Uaiuk'litT,  .lit/uro/ogical  Tour,  p.  150. 


U.  S.  Hii.  Ktli. 
HKiM  (11    ri:KK\  corrA,  firiRKUi 


:^in 


Musical    Iiistniincnts,   AinusciiU'iUs,  ami   (lai'.i's      ;i^ 


explosive  (iu:ilil\  of  xocalisatioii — that  is,  \i(ilcnl  ixplosjvc  itnio 
instead  of,  as  with  us,  toms  loiii;  (hawn  out.  The  Moki  seems 
j;euerall>-  to  siii,n  uotliinj;  hut  "ho,  ho,  ho,  Im,  he,  hi,  lu-,  he, 
hay,  hay,  ha\-,"  ete.,  and  he  lias  tiuile  a  (Uffennl  ilnthiii  from  the 
I'te,  while  the  singinj;- of  the  Xa\-ajo.  when  the  simmer  opens  out 


i 


IS 


I 

ti' 


MKNOXMM'.F.     TAMllotKINK.    DKTM 
A  commnn  furiu  with  iii.iny  tribes 


I 


all  the  stops,  is  more  like  the  voice  of  a  cat  in  the  back  yard  than 
any  other  sound  in  civilisation  that  I  can  think  of,  P'arther  north 
the  sounds  change  again  :  the  Tlinkit  vocalisation  suggests  death 
by  strangulation. 

Fillmore  states  that  the  Navajo  songs  were  the  most  primitive 
of  any  he  studied.  "  They  form  in  fact  the  coiniccting  link  be- 
tween excited  howling  and  excited  singing.  The  quality  of  tone 
is  indescribable,  being  more  like  a  yelp  than  anything  else  ;  but  the 
intervals  yelped  are  unmistakably  those  of  the  major  chord  or  of 
the  minor  chord.  The  tone-quality  is  that  of  slunititig,  or  even  of 
howling,  but  the  pitch-relations  into  which  they  tend  to  fall  are 


k: 


i  i 


^:i 


111  i 


314  The   North-Americans  of  Yesterday 

those  of  the  major  chord.  .  .  .  Some  of  the  Navaho  songs  are 
ilhistratiotis  of  melody  so  primitive  as  to  l>ring  us  very  near  to  the 
be<;^inning  of  music- makin<(.  .  .  .  I  started  my  investigations 
witli  the  impression  that  there  might  be  essential  differences  in 
structure  between  the  I.ulian  music  and  our  own.  I  studied  the 
Indian  nuisic  for  ten  years  with  the  utmost  care  and  thoroughness 
of  which  I  was  capal^le.  I  have  failed  to  find  one  single  interval 
in  Indian  music  which  we  do  not  use.  It  is  true,  I  have  often 
heard  Indians  sing  these  intervals  out  of  tune  ;  but  this  is  a  phe- 
nomenon by  no  means  confined  to  savage  or  uncivilised  races.  In 
every  such  case,  when  I  was  singing  with  Indians  and  was  able  to 
get  at  their  real  intentions,  I  have  found  that  they  meant  to  sing 

exnctly  tlie interval  we.should 
sing  in  their  ]:)lace. 
I  have  also  found  that  in- 
crease of  power  is  almost 
alwa\s  accompanied  with  in- 
crea.sed  elevation  of  pilch, 
and  diminution  of  intensity 
with  a  lowering  of  i>itch, 
seemingly  without  the  Indian 
being  aware  of  it. 
The  evidence  of  the  essential 
unity  of  all  music,  from  the 
most  primitive  to  the  most 
advanced,  is  cmnulative.  The 
Xavaho  howls  his  song  to 
the  war  gods  directly  along 
the  line  of  the  major  chord  ; 
Beethoven  makes  the  first 
theme  of  his  great  '  Itlroica  ' 
symphoin  out  of  precisely 
the  ^ame  material.  The 
Tigua  makes  his  '  Dance  of 
the  Wheel  '  out  of  a  major 
cliord,  and  its  relative  minor;  Wagner  makes  I.ohen.nrin  .sing 
'  Mein  lieber  .schwan '  to  .1  melody  composed  of  exactly  the 
same  ingredients.  In  short  there  is  otdy  one  kind  of  music  in 
the  world."  Like  everything  else  pertaining  to  man.  it  is  a 
matter   of  development   modified   by   circum.stances.     Fillmore's 


U.  S.  Hii.  Kth. 

UMAMA    IMIX     DKIM 

A  common  form  with  most  tribes.     Originally  m.ide 
from  ,1  hollow  log 


Musical   Instruments,   Amusements,  and  Games     315 

txcL-lleiit  investigation  '  in  this  line  only  proves  again  that  man  is 
tilt--  same  in  all  climes  and  ages  since  first  we  get  track  of  him, 
so  far  as  his  fundamental  make-up  is  concerned.  \'ariations  and 
differences  are  only  those  which  come  from  a  development  of 
lakiit  talents  or  possibilities.     He  always  moves,  when  he  moves, 


■^J; 


i 
ii 

!  * 

I';'. 


r.  S.  N.,t.  Mil. 


HKT    OK    I'I.WIM;    SIKIO 


hi 


le 


rdoiii;-  certain  lines  that  are  prearranged  by  his  constitution  and  hi> 
environment.  He  may  stop  where  circumstances  direct,  but  he 
will  lia\-e  stopped  where  others  stopped  before. 

There  is  always  a  great  deal  of  repetition  in  the  songs.  The 
Amerind  .seems  content  to  go  over  and  over  again  the  same  few 
notes.  In  some  tribes  the  }')oet  and  singer  stands  in  the  interior 
of  a  circle  formed  b\-  all  tlie  mend)ers  of  the  tribe — men,  women, 
and  children — .around  a  cedar  tree  from  which  all  but  the  top 
branches  have  been  removed.  A  time  of  moonlight  is  chosen,  and 
I  remember  well  such  a  night  with  some  Pai  Utes,  of  .Arizona. 
The  poet  recited  his  refrain,  then  all  took  it  uji  and  repeated  it  in 
song,  circling  round  and  round  the  cedar  with  their  i)eculiar  shuflle. 
repeating  and  repeating.  I  joined  the  circle  and  the  singing  till  I 
became  tired,  and  finally  left  them  still  enjoying  it.  The  poet 
would  give  out  some  such  stan/.a  as 

'•  No  rabbit  kill, 
No  rabbit  cat." 

'  Jobn  Comfort  Fillmore,  "  Tlu>  Harmonic  Structure  of  Indiau  Music," 
.liftrriuiH  .-intfiKo/yoloi^ist,  N.  S.,  .\pril,  iSqq.  Sec  also  Clias.  K.  Wead, 
"The  vStudy  of  Primitive  Music,"  Am.  Anlhropoloiiist,  N.  S.,  vol.  ii.,  No.  i. 


<! 


l 


li  '^ 


t    I 


316  The   North- Americans  of  Yesterday 

and  it  would  serve  the  purpose  for  a  considerable  time,  when  lie 
would  be  obliged  to  announce  a  new  one. 

Mooney  has  translated  some  of  the  songs  of  the  Arapah<.s  used 
in  the  Ghost  or  Resurrection  Dance,  and  I  give  several  as  speci- 
mens of  their  style  '  : 

'•  (),  my  children  !     O,  my  children  ! 
Mere  is  another  of  your  pipes—  He  eye  ! 
Here  is  another  of  your  pipes  —  I  le  eye  ! 
Look  !  thus  I  shouted  —  He  eye  ! 
Look  !  thus  I  shouted  —  He  eye  ! 
When  I  moved  the  earth  —  He  eve  ! 
When  I  moved  the  earth  — He  eye  ! 


"  The  sacred  pipe  tells  me  —  Iv  yahe  eye  ! 
The  sacred  pipe  tells  me  —  IC  yahe  eye  ! 
Our  father  —  Yahe  eye  ! 
Our  father  —  Yahe  eye  ! 
We  shall  surely  be  put  again  (with  our  friends)  E  yahe  eye  ! 
We  shall  surely  be  put  again  (with  our  friends)  E  yahe  eye  ! 
Our  father,  E  yahe  eye  ! 
Our  father,  E  yahe  eye  ! 


••  The  cedar  tree,  the  cedar  tree  ! 

We  have  it  in  the  centre  ! 

We  have  it  in  the  centre  ! 
When  we  dance, 
W^hen  we  dance, 

We  have  it  in  the  centre  ! 

We  have  it  in  the  centre  ! 


««  My  children,  my  children  ! 

It  is  I  who  wear  the  morning  star  on  my  head ! 

It  is  I  who  wear  the  morning  star  on  my  head ! 

I  show  it  to  my  children  ! 

I  show  it  to  my  children  1 

Says  the  father  ! 

Says  the  father ! 


•'  With  the  ba-qati  wheel  I  am  gambling  ! 
With  the  ba-qati  wheel  I  am  gambling  ! 

With  the  black  mark  I  win  the  game ! 
With  the  black  mark  I  win  the  game !  " 

•  James  Mooney.  "  The  Ghost-Dance  Religion,"  Fourteenth  Ann.  Kept 
Bn.  Elh.,  pp.  994.  995- 


Musical  Tnstrutn(*nts,   Amusemc-nts,  and  Games     317 


Hi 


"  Tliis  (last)  song  is  from  the  northern  Arapaho.  The  author 
of  it  in  his  visit  to  the  spirit  worUl,  found  his  former  friends  phiying 
the  old  game  of  the  fxu/a f/  whetj],  which  was  i^ractically  oI)solcte 
among  the  prairie  tribes,  but  which  is  being  revived  since  the 
advent  of  the  Ghost  Datice.  .  .  .  The  game  is  ])layed  with  a 
wlieel  (  Z'^^/rf//,  large  wheel  land  two  pairs  of  throwing  sticks.  .  .  . 
It  is  a  man's  game  and  there  are  three  players,  one  rolling  the 
wlieel  while  the  other  two,  each  armed  with  a  pair  of  throwing 
sticks,  run  after  it  and  throw  the  sticks  so  as  to  cross  the  wheel  in 
a  certain  position."  ' 

Among  the  Mokis,  some  of  the  old  men  are  custodians  of  songs, 
according  to  the  societies  to 
which  they  belong.     Such  a  .,^^z-^^ 

man  is  leader  of  the  singing. 


i:u   Kill. 


Tiirtic  >licll,  «  ith  Iioofs  of  i;iiats  or  sheep. 

F.istciK  (1  to   the  rear  of  the  ri^lit  Ki;  near 

the  knee  in  ci.iiicini; 


I'.iintcd  ;;  ■iir.l  w  ith  ttnod  handle 


I'l  Kltlo    KA  III.KS. 


Il  is  he  who  knows  the  old  .^ongs.  Ik-  meets  a  lot  of  the 
\(iuiig  men  at  a  specified  house,  and  jilacing  an  old  titi  i)an 
on  llie  lloor  to  spit  in  while  smoking  cigarettes,  and  beside  it  a 
candle  lor  light,  they  grou]i  themselves  in  a  circle,  sitting  on  the 


M 


1 1 


1  -\ ' 


\m 


^  ' 


A 


m 

!  I  f' 

1;. 


'  James  Mooticy,  "  Tliu  (iliosl-Datice  Relij.(ioii,"  Fonrternlh  Auu.  Rcfyt. 
r>H.  h'.th.,  pj).  994.  995 


il 


1 8  The   North-Americans  of  Yesterday 


floor,  while  the  instructor  takes  his  place  on  a  stool  at  the  large 
double-headed  drum  at  one  end.  He  runs  over  a  passage,  beating 
time  on  the  drum,  and  tlien  all  join  mi  with  a  vigour  that  well- 
nigh  raises  the  roof.  There  was  something  fine  in  the  force  and 
power  with  which  these  songs  were  rendered,  and  it  was  the  only 
time  in  my  experience  that  my  artistic  sense  was  stirred  l>\- 
Amerind  singing.  Later,  on  the  same  evening  as  the  gathering 
mentioned,  when  the  same  young  men  were  rehearsing  further  and 
also  practising  the  dance  with  some  small  girls  in  a  neighbouring 
house,  the  singing  lost  its  fire  and  was  not  at  all  thrilling.  Be- 
fore the  rehearsal  with  the  young  men  the  "choirmaster"  rehearses 
by  himself.  From  my  house  at  Tewa,  on  the  "East  Mesa."  I 
could  hear  just  after  dark,  every  evening,  through  the  stone  wall, 
continuous  singitig.  It  was  in  the  next  room  or  "hon.se,"  the 
entrance  to  which,  though  on  my  level,  was  around  a  corner  and  not 
comiected  in  any  way  with  my  balcony,  I  had  a  ladder  of  my  own. 
I  was  curious  to  see  who  it  was  that  was  .so  devoted  to  this  amuse- 
ment, I  mounted  to  my  house-top  by  means  of  .steps  on  the  end 
of  a  wall,  and  then  I  ccnild  look  down  my  neighbour's  chimney, 
from  which  little  .smoke  and  much  sound  were  arising,  I  could  see 
plainly  the  singer,  an  old  man,  silting  cross-legged  before  the  fire, 
its  light  .so^My  illuminating  him,  with  a  small  double-headed  drum^ 
between  his  knees,  which  he  was  vigorously  beating  in  accompani- 
ment to  a  "ho,  ho,  HO,  ho,  no  —  iik,  he,  iiK,"  etc.  When  I  went 
afterward  to  the  house  of  Anawita,  the  war-chief,  to  the  rehearsal 
described,  this  old  fellow  and  Anawita  were  the  leaders  of  the 
.songs.  They  were  practising  at  that  time  for  the  Somaikoli  or 
Soyaita  ceremony. 

The  Amerind  is  fond  of  .singing.  He  sings  in  ceremonials, 
sings  in  camp,  bursts  out  in  yelps  as  he  rides  across  country,  an<l 
the  women  amongst  the  Pueblos  .sing  a  shrill  chant  while  they 
are  grinding  corn.  Men  of  some  tribes  sing  at  times  without 
knowing  what  they  are  singing.  I  once  had  a  X'inkarets  Ute  with 
me  in  Arizona,  and  at  night  this  man  would  build  a  fire  a  few 
Niirds  from  us.  and  .sitting  by  it  would  sing  the  words  I.o/n-niy, 
lola-m\\  lola-ifiy  with  great  vigour  and  gusto  over  and  over 
and  over  again.  When  I  asketl  him  what  the  words  meant, 
he  .said  he  did  not  know,  nor  could  he  explain  just  why  he  per- 
formed thus,  but  it  was  probably  a  gambling  chant.  Singing  is 
u.sed  at  night  for  driving  away  evil  spirits  that  may  be  near.     We 


Musical   Instruments,   Amusements,  and  Ciames     319 

had  four  Pai  Utes  once  travelliuj,^  witli  us  for  a  number  of  weeks, 
aud  almost  every  night,  along  in  the  middle,  one  would  wake  and 


I'.  S.  f^u.  Eth. 
MOKI    NOrciIKD    STICK 


With  shoulder-blade  of  deer 
or  sheep  for  scraping  it  to 
make  noise 


U.  S.  Nat.  Mil. 

KWAKiril.     lionil.K 

WHIM  I  1:,  Willi    lOl  K 

\<)|(  l>.       }^ 


U.  S.  lUi.  Kth. 
Zl'Sl    Ii.\N<|-.   OKNA.MKNT 

Yellow  K"iird  with  hand  of 
black  and  white  squares. 
A  stick  is  passed  through 
it  for  a  hatidle.  Cenerally 
used  ill  sociil  dances 

l)L-in  to  .siiio-  ill  a  low  voice,  then  a  .second  would  join,  and  a  tliird, 
and  .so  on  till  all  were  engaged,  iheir  voices  rising  graduallv,  and 
finally  as  gradually  diminishing  till  they  cea.sed  altogether!''    As 

'  Murdoch  .says  the  Point  Barrow  Eskimo  wake  up  in  tlic  uiKht  to  siny 
~.\  tilth  Ann.  Kept.  Bu.  Eth.,  p.  388. 


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320  riu;   North-Americans  of  Yesterday 

this  perfonnance  woke  us  up  tlicrc  were  protests  agaiust  it,  but 
tlie}'  were  of  110  avail.  The  red  nicu  declared  they  did  it  to  drive 
off  llie  "  woonupils,"  or  spirit  of  evil,  and  we  were  forced  to  par- 
take of  their  protection.  Beginning  a  .song  low  and  rising  slowly 
is  an  effect  often  used.  Kewkes  mentions  something  of  the  kind. 
"At  the  termination  of  this  ceremonial  smoke."  he  .says,  "the 
four  priests  nearest  the  bowl  picked  up  the  .small  gourd  rattles  and 
l)egan  a  low,  rapid  rattling.  This  continued  for  a  few  moments, 
and  then  the  priests  began  a  .song,  at  first  low,  rising  gradually 
and  increasing  in  volinne."  Fewkes  recorded  many  .songs  by 
means  of  the  phonograpli.  The  Harriman  lixpeditiou  recorded  a 
number  of  Tlinkit  .songs,  ami  afterwards  .some  of  these  were 
reprotluced  for  the  benefit  of  men  of  the  .same  .stock  farther  north, 
who  inunediately  recognised  the  melodies  and.  as  their  hilarity 
testified,  enjoyed  them  hugely,  though  they  had  never  before 
heard  a  talking  machine. 

Most  Amerind  songs 
are  connected  with  cere- 
monials, and  some  are 
i  m  p  o  r  t  e  d  or  adopted. 
Ceremonials  are  not  al- 
ways sacred.  Many  of 
ihem  are  full  of  amusing 
features  intended  to  enter- 
lain  the  onlookers.  The 
attendance  at  a  camp  or 
village  on  a  ceremonial 
day  is  for  amusement  as 
nuich  as  anything  else. 
The  different  tribes  of 
a  locality  expect  to  meet 
friends  then  and  enjoy 
.social  intercourse.  Tlu 
Amerind  is  fond  of  games,  races,  and  all  forms  of  .sport  on  which 
a  wager  can  be  laid.  A  game  without  a  stake  would  be  no 
game  at  all  for  him.  He  must  put  uj)  .something  to  lose,  and 
I  once  noticed  after  a  distribution  of  goods  among  individuals 
of  a  certain  tribe  that  within  twenty-four  hours  a  few  had  all 
the  goods.  In  modern  times  many  Amerinds  ])lay  cards.  Their 
own  games  are  numerous.     In  the  "  awl  game,"  played  chiefly  by 


isroM 


f'ift/f 


U.S.  N;it.  Mil. 


Till'.    AW  I.    (;\MK 


s 


Musical   Instruments,   Amusements,  and  Games 


3-^1 


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leir 
by 


women,  '' the  players,"  according  to  Mooney,  "sit  upon  thegroumi 
around  a  blanket  marked  in  charcoal  with  lines  and  dots  and  quad- 
rants in  the  corners  as  shown  in  illustration  on  preceding  page.  In 
the  centre  is  a  stone  upon  which  the  sticks  are  thrown.  Kach  dot 
.  counts  a  point,  making  twenty-four  points  for  dots.  Kach 
of  the  parallel  lines,  and  each  end  of  the  curved  lines  in  the  cor- 
ners, also  counts  a  point,  making  sixteen  points  for  the  lines,  or 
forty  points  in  all.  The  players  start  from  the  bottom,  opposing 
players  moving  in  opposite  directions,  and  with  each  throw  of  the 
sticks  the  thrower  moves  her  awl  forward  and  sticks  it  iiUo 
the  blanket  at  the  dot  or  line  to  which  her  throw  carries  her. 
The  parallels  on  each  of  the  four  sides  are  called  '  rivers.'  and  the 
dots  within  these  parallels  do  not  count  in  the  game.  The  rivers  at 
the  top  and  bottom  are  '  dangerous  '  and  cannot  be  crossed,  and 
when  the  player  is  so  unlucky  as  to  score  a  throw  which  brings 
her  upon  the  edge  of  the  river  (/.  c,  upon  the  first  line  of  either  of 
these  pairs  of  parallels)  she  '  falls  into  the  river  '  and  must  lose 
all  she  has  hitherto  gained  and  begin  again  at  the  .start.  In  the 
same  way,  when  a  player  moving  around  in  one  direction  makes  a 
throw  which  brings  her  awl  to  the  place  occupied  by  the  awl  of 
her  opponent  coming  around  from  the  other  side,  the  said  op- 
ponent is  '  whipped  back  '  to  the  starting-point  and  must  begin 
all  over  again.  .  .  .  The  game  is  played  with  four  sticks, 
each  from  six  to  ten  inches  long,  flat  on  one  side  and  round  on  the 
other.  One  of  these  is  the  tnunp  stick  and  is  marked  in  a  distinct- 
ive manner  in  the  centre  on  l)oth  sides,  and  is  also  distinguished 
by  having  a  green  line  along  the  flat  side,  while  the  others  have 
each  a  red  line.  .  .  .  There  are  also  a  number  of  small  green 
sticks,  about  the  size  of  lead  pencils,  for  keeping  tally.  Each 
player  in  turn  takes  up  the  four  sticks  together  in  her  hand  and 
throws  them  down  on  end  upon  the  stone  in  the  centre.  The 
number  of  points  depends  upon  the  munl)er  of  flat  round  sticks 
which  turn  up.  .  .  .  Oidy  the  flat  sides  count  except  when  all  the 
sticks  turn  round  side  up.  On  completing  one  round  of  forty 
points  the  player  takes  one  of  the  small  green  tally  sticks  from  the 
pile  and  she  who  first  gets  the  number  of  tally  sticks  previously 
agreed  on  wins  the  game."  ' 

Another  game,  widely  spread  and  in  .some  respects  resembling 

'James  Mooiiey,  The  Ghost-Dance  Religion,  Fourteenth  Ann.  /\\pt.  liu. 
Etfi.,  pp.  I002,  1003. 


i 


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2  2  The   North- Americans  of  Yesterday 


1,1' 


!^ 


'■^■i^! 


the  Mexican  game  of  paiolli,  is  thus  described  by  Fewkes  as  he 
found  it  among  the  Mokis '  : 

"  This  game,  toto/ospi,  resembles  somewhat  the  game  of  clieck- 
ers,  and  can  be  played  by  two  persons  or  by  two  parties.     In  play- 


Set  of  bone  dice,  Arapaho.     Length,  i;!^  to  2}^  in. 


Set  of  counting  sticks,  lUackfeet.     Length,  55^  in. 


U.  S.  Nat.  Mu. 

Set  of  plum  stones,  Arikarcc.     Diameter,  \\  in. 

AMI:KIM)    CAMULINd   TOOLS 


ing  the  game,  a  rectangular  figure  divided  into  a  large  number  of 
squares  is  drawn  upon  a  rock,  either  by  scratching  or  by  using  a 
different-coloured  stone  as  a  crayon.     A  diagonal  line,  tuhkiota,  is 

'J.  Walter  Fewkes,  yi^///".  0/  Am.  Eth.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  159. 


\\.\ 


1 


ber  of 

ohi,  is 


Musical   Instruments,   AmuscnicMits,  and  Games 


drawn  across  the  rectangle  from  nortli-east  to  sontli-west,  and  the 
players  station  tlieniselves  at  each  end  of  this  line.  When  two 
parties  play,  a  single  person  acts  as  player,  and  the  other  mend )crs 
of  the  party  act  as  advisers.  The  first  pla>-  is  won  by  tossing  up  a 
leaf  or  corn  husk  with  one  side  i)lackened.  The  pieces  which  are 
used  are  bean  or  corn  kernels,  stones  and  wood,  or  small  Iragments 
of  any  substance  of  marked  colour.  The  players  are  stationed  at 
each  end  of  the  diagonal  line,  tiihkiota.  They  move  their  pieces 
upon  this  line  but  never  across  it.  The  moves  which  are  made  are 
intricate  and  the  player  may  move  one  or  more  pieces  successively. 
Certain  jiositions  entitle  him  to  this  privilege.  He  may  capture  or. 
as  he  terms  it,  kill  one  or  more  of  his  opponent's  pieces  at  one  play. 
In  this  respect  the  game  is  not  unlike  checkers,  and  to  capture  the 
pieces  of  the  opponent  .seems  to  be  the  main  object  of  the  game." 

Hor.se-racing  is  a  great  sport  among  all  Amerinds  and  much 
valuable  property  changes  hands  on  these  occasions.  There  are 
also  foot  races.  Anything  they  can  bet  on  constitutes  a  game, 
and  they  are  much  like  many  white  men  in  this  respect.  Ar- 
rows are  shot  into  the  air  to  see  who  can  shoot  out  of  sight,  or 
they  are  shot  at  a  mark  and  tlexterous  archers  try  to  split  the 
shaft  of  the  preceding  shooter.  Or  they  throw  arrows  or  bows 
over  the  ground  or  the  snow  to  .see  who  can  throw  farthest.  In 
this  line  the  Iroquois  had  the  game  known  as  ".snow  snake," 
wherein  a  specially  formed  stick  was  caused  to  glide  over  the 
snow  or  ice.  The  Arapahos  used  for  a  similar  purpose  .slender 
willow  rods  about  four  feet  long  peeled  and  painted  and  tipped 
with  a  point  of  buffalo  horn.  This  is  swung  from  one  end  like  a 
pendulum  and  then  let  fly  with  a  .sweeping  motion. 

Among  the  Pal  Utes  a  connnon  gambling  game  was  played  by 
four  men  sitting  down  in  two  rows  opposite  each  other,  that  is,  two 
on  a  side,  and  about  five  feet  apart.  In  front  of  each  .side  was  a 
row  of  little  sticks  placed  diagonally  in  sand  heaped  up,  the  ends 
sticking  out  toward  the  side  to  which  the  lot  belonged.  Two  l)its 
of  bone  formed  the  pieces,  one  being  plain  and  the  other  having  a 
buckskin  string  around  it.  The.se  pieces  were  about  two  and  a 
half  inches  long,  tapering  toward  their  ends.  The  leader  of  one 
.side  to.s.ses  both  pieces  into  the  air  and,  catching  them,  cros.ses  his 
arms,  pre.ssing  the  fists  against  each  shoulder.  The  point  is  for 
the  other  .side  to  gue.ss  in  which  hand  is  the  piece  that  is  marked 
with  the  string,  and  the  diagonally  opposite  player  chocses.     He 


■i: 


jl    I  ■ 

i 


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I'- 


It' 


324 


Tlic   North- Americans  of  Yesterday 


f'      i 


^ 


I- 


!l: 


does  not  at  once  indicate  a  choice,  hut  sways  his  hody  back  and 
forth,  his  right  hand  extended  and  waving  to  and  fro  across 
the  opponent's  breast,  and  shipping  his  own  chest,  all  the  while 
fiercely  uttering  a  gand)ling  song.  Finally  he  would  point  directly 
at  the  hand  he  chose,  and  if  his  guess  were  correct  he  received  a 
tally  stick,  if  not,  the  other  side  got  one.  The  .side  that  wins  all 
the  tally  slicks  is  victor  and  carries  off  the  stakes,  which  are  usu- 
ally put  on  the  grountl  at  one  end  of  the  group.  This  is  some- 
thing like  the  "hunt  the  button"  game  of  the  prairie  tribes 
described  by  Mooney.'  "  It  is  the  regular  game  in  the  long  win- 
ter nights  after  the  scattered  families  have  abandoned  their  ex- 
po.sed  .summer  po.sitions  on  the  open  prairie  and  moved  dc^wn  near 
one  another  in  the  shelter  of  the  timber  along  the  .streams. 
.  .  .  The  players  .sit  in  a  circle  around  the  tipi  fire,  those  on 
one  side  of  the  fire  playing  against  those  on  the  other.  The  only 
requisites  are  the  'button,'  u.sually  a  small  bit  of  wood,  around 
which  is  tied  a  piece  of  string  or  otter  .skin,  with  a  pile  of  tally 
sticks.  .  .  .  IJacli  party  has  a  button,  that  of  one  side  being 
painted  black,  the  other  being  red.  The  leader  of  one  party  takes 
up  the  button  and  endeavours  to  move  it  from  one  hand  to  the 
other,  or  pa.ss  it  on  to  a  partner,  while  those  of  the  opposite 
side  keep  a  .sharp  lookout  and  try  to  guess  in  which  hand  it  is." 
This  game  is  played  by  both  sexes  but  never  together. 

Still  another  game  which  was  a  great  favourite  all  over  the 
country,  and  is  yet,  especially  among  the  women,  is  the  "  plum 
stone"  or  dice  game.  Five  or  six  dice  made  of  bone  or  plum 
.stones,  a  small  bowl  or  basket,  and  the  usual  tally  slicks  are  the 
implements.  Two  of  the  dice  are  alike  in  .shape  and  marking, 
while  the  others  are  different  from  these  but  like  each  other.  The 
dice  are  to.ssed  up  and  the  count  made  according  to  the  way  the 
marks  and  blanks  fall. 

The  camps  and  villages  are  particularly  liveh  in  winter,  when 
there  is  not  nuicli  to  do  in  the  way  of  hunting,  farming,  or  fishing. 
The  .sound  of  the  drum,  gambling  songs,  and  rattles  make  the  eve- 
ning merry  where  the  village  is  one  of  skin  tipis  or  other  light  struc- 
tures, but  among  the  Pueblos  the  walls  of  the  houses  are  .so  thick 
that  sounds  do  not  easily  come  through.  The  great  drum  is  pene- 
trating and  its  deep  "bum-bum-bum"  could  be  heard  vibrating 
on  the  winter  air,  but  other  sounds  were  muffled  or  extinguished 
'  James  Moouey,  Foiirtccfiih  Ann.  Rcpt.  liii.  Et/i.,  p.  1008. 


■i 


Musical    Instruments,   Anuiscincnts,  ami  (ianns 


.>-5 


altdgetlK-r  l)y  the  wiill--.     One  inooiilij^ht  (.A'ciiiii*;  uliLii   I    irrivcil 


bftore  llic  town  of  ()rail)i,  al)()iil  ci<'lil  o'clock,  not  a  siu'jK 


mud 


was  (listitij;uislial)K-,  and  to  jndj^c  by  appearances,  tlie  place  was 
a  deserted  rniu,  till  the  dogs  got  a  snilTof  our  approach  and  then 
pandemonium  ruled  so  lar  as  they  were  concerned.  Man>-  tribes 
have  an  assembly  house,  where  there  are  various  congregations  in 
the  winter  evenings,  to  sing  and  to  dance.  Among  the  Pueblos 
these  congregations,  when  there  are  women  or  girls  inx'olved,  take 
place  in  an  ordinary  dwelling  ;  the  kiva,  which  is  council  ro(Mn, 
clui),  and  .society  lodge,  seldom  being  open  to  women.  An  orches- 
tra that  performed  in  a  Kabinapek  a.s.send)ly  hall  described  by 
Stephen  Powers  is  worth  mentioning.  "  The  orchestra,  eight  in 
number,   all   young   men,   were   .squatteil   together   opposite    the 


)•:, 


I  I  n 


K  It] 

% 


nig. 

The 

ly  the 


U.  S.  hu.  Kt.i, 


Section 


ii 


\ 


IlKKA    (OTTA    KATII.K    l-ROM    CinKKjII 


entrance,  four  facing  four.  Between  them  was  a  hollow  slab,  serving 
as  a  kind  of  drum  to  be  beaten  by  a  drummer  with  the  naked  foot, 
and  each  of  them  held  in  his  right  hand  a  little  stick,  split  half 
way  down,  to  be  u.sed  as  a  clapper  in  keeping  time.  The  dancers 
were  all  young  women,  who  .stood  in  a  curved  row  in  front  of  the 
orchestra."  This  orchestra  sang  a  chorus  accompanied  by  the 
clappers  they  held.  "  Like  everything  they  sung  it  has  no  mean- 
ing.    They  all  sung  in  a  high  falsetto  voice,  the  women  especially. 


I    t 


(    • 


'       I 


i. 


n 


II 


i 


326  The  Nortli-Anu'ricans  of  Vcsterday 

so  tliat  they  were  less  aj^reeahle  to  listen  to  than  the  men.  The 
sharp  niotKHonons  clackinj;  of  the  sticks  and  the  dull  tunk,  tunk 
of  the  slal)  drum  were  execrable."  He  states  that  they  kept  per- 
fect time-,  however,  and  also  that  "  there  was  one  short  passage  in 
this  chorus  which  when  chanted  by  the  men  alone  was  one  ol" 
the  most  mo\inj4  I  ever  heard.  These  three  rude,  barbaric,  and 
wholly  unintellii;il)le  s\llables,  hu  di-go,  were  trilled  and  pro- 
longed out  with  a  sweet,  soft,  and  wild  melodiousness  that  I  shall 
not  forget  to  my  dying  hour."  ' 

The  Kskimo,  despite  the  severity  of  their  surroundings,  are  a 
merry  people,  and  have  many  diversions.  Football,  strange  to 
sa\-,  is  a  favourite  pastime,  l)ut  neither  their  method  nor  their  ball 
would  jXTSS  muster  with  a  college  exjiert.  The  ball  is  a  pudg\- 
affair  from  three  to  seven  inches  in  diameter,  and  is  either  kicked 
or  whipped  along.  The  whip  is  a  short  stick  with  several  loops 
of  seal  thong  at  the  end.  The  game,  according  to  Turner,  is  a 
favourite  with  all.  Throwing  stones  at  a  mark  is  also  a  ])astime. 
Another  is  a  kind  of  wrestling  or  struggling  with  each  other,  .such 
as  is  in  vogue  with  almost  all  the  tribes  of  the  continent.  Turner 
sa>s :  ' '  The  opponents  remove  all  their  sujierfluous  garments,  .sei/.e 
each  other  around  the  waist  and  lock  hands  behind  each  other's 
backs.  The  feet  are  spread  widely  apart  and  each  endeavours  to 
draw,  by  the  strength  of  the  arms  alone,  the  back  of  his  opponent 
into  a  curve  and  thus  bring  him  off  his  feet.  Then  with  a  lift  he 
is  quickly  thrown  flat  on  his  back.  The  fall  must  be  such  that 
the  head  touches  the  ground.  .  .  .  The  feet  are  never  used 
for  tripping."  " 

Anything  like  scientific  boxing  is  unknown  among  the  tribes 
of  the  continent.  When  they  try  anything  of  this  sort  it  is  a 
mere  clawing  at  each  other's  heads,  and  one  professional  pugilist, 
if  fists  alone  were  used,  could  knock  out  a  whole  tribe.  Among 
the  Hudson  Hay  Kskimo,  a  popular  game  is  played  by  trying  to 
catch,  on  the  end  of  an  ivory  point,  an  ivory  piece  that  looks  some- 
thing like  a  stumpy  revolver.  A  string  is  attached  to  it  and  to 
the  ivory  point,  and  the  game  is  to  throw  up  the  piece  and  cause 
the  point  to  enter  one  of  the  holes  and  catch  it.  Cards,  such  as  we 
have,  are  known  to  almost  all  tribes,  and  where  they  have  not 
learned  games  from  the  whites  they  invent  some  of  their  own. 

'  Stephen  Powers,  Tribes  of  California,  pp.  211,  212. 
«  Eleventh  Ann.  Kept.  Bu.  Eth.,  p.  255. 


n 


Musical    Iiistrimu'iits,   Anuisi-nu'nts,  and   ("lanics 


:>^7 


Hall  j^aims  of  various  kinds  were  ]>la\f(l  ainl  the  Canadian 
^aine  called  /ai/vssc  is  of  Anicrind  origin.  Parknian  in  his 
PonliiU  vividl>-  describes  one  of  these  lacrosse  panics  used  in 
strate.ijy  to  i;ain  entrance  to  an  ICn^lish  fort.  "The  plain  in 
front  was  covered  !)>•  the  ball  pla\ers.  The  ijanie  in  which  they 
w.ie  en};a'4ed,  called  /'</;' i,'<f//<f7i'<n'  b>-  the  Ujibwas.  is  still,  as  it  al- 


CAT-SIIAI'K.l)    WIIISTI.K    OK     IKKRA    COi'lA,    rMIKHIfl 

ways  has  been,  a  favourite  with  many  Indian  tribes.  At  either  ex- 
tremity of  the  ground,  a  tall  jiost  was  planted,  marking  the  stations 
of  the  rival  parlies.  The  oiy'ect  of  each  was  to  defend  its  own 
post  anil  drive  the  ball  to  that  of  its  adversary.  Hundreds  of 
lithe  and  agile  figures  were  leaping  and  bounding  upon  the  plain, 
Ivach  was  nearly  naked,  his  loose  black  hair  fixing  in  the  wind, 
and  each  i)ore  in  his  hand  a  bat  of  a  form  peculiar  to  this  game. 
At  one  moment  the  whole  were  crowded  together,  a  dense  throng 
of  combatants  all  .struggling  for  the  "^kUI  ;  at  the  next  they  were 
.scattered  again,  and  rutming  over  the  ground  like  hounds  in  full 
cr\-.  Ivacli,  in  his  excitement,  yelled  and  shouted  at  the  height 
of  his  voice.  Rushing  and  striking,  tripping  their  adversaries,  or 
hurling  them  to  the  groiuid.  the\-  pursued  the  animated  contest 
amid  the  laughter  and  applau.se  of  the  spectators." 


'I «' 

.1- 


! 


11^ 


n 


■  I'l 


.i 


k 


The   Xorth-Aiiioricans  of  NcsttTclay 


In  Ceiiliiil  Aiiicrica,  :i  form  of  tennis  was  in  vogue  and  stunc 
courts  where  the  ^anie  was  phiyed  liave  been  found  and  descrilx-d 
by  some  of  our  modem  archtcoh)gists. 

I  never  saw  any  l)all  playiu};  amonj^st  the  I'inkarets,  .Shevwils, 
or  oilier  Amerinds  of  the  northern  Ari/ona-soutliern  Nevada  re- 
gion. The}-  all  appeared  to  be  deficient  in  games,  at  the  time  I 
was  first  among  them,  not  knowing  what  our  pla\  ing-cards  were, 
and  having  even  no  t.ames  of  exterior  origin.  There  were  flat 
pieces  of  cetlar  bark,  painted  with  red  .stripes,  said  b\-  some  to 
have  been  "sed  like  dice,  but  I  never  saw  them  engaged  in  pla\  ing 
with  them.      The  chiklren  used  a  flat  piece  of  bark  as  a  eloll,  and 


£ 


^J 


r 


o 


r 


V 


U.  S.  N;it.  Mil 


(  ifiiri;e  L.itlm 


MANDAN    (lAMK    (IK    TCH  INf.KKK 


ll 


^# 


most  Amerind  children  play  with  dolls  made  of  wood,  terra  colta, 
and  other  tnaterials  The  small  boys  devote  themselves  to  the 
bow  and  arrow  for  amusement  in  many  tribes,  and  they  will  go 
out  in  the  woods,  or  on  the  plnin,  and  bring  down  small  birds 
and  mice  with  considerable  skill.  The  whip-to]),  made  of  wood, 
is  a  favourite  every  where,  especially  among  the  Moki  boys,  wliose 

'  Vox  a  (It'scription  <»f  the  "  Cat's  Cradle  "  games  of  tlip  Amerinds,  see 
tlie  elalxnati'  work  .S/fii/t;  /•>•.'//;■(.■■  by  Caroline  I'uiiuss  Ja\  ue. 


I     ii'     ' 


Musical    InstruniciUs.    AiniiscniciUs.  and    ("i.iiiics 


;^-') 


life  oil  iIk-  l);invii  iik'sms  prcc-hidi-s  luiuii  Iiuiiliiii;  with  how  and 
arrow.     The  chihhvu  also  ht-al  tin-  (Iruiii  tor  luii. 

Ilorst'-raciiij;  is  a  sport  in  which  nian\  trihcs,  fspccially 
those  of  the  plains,  are  past  masters.  The  I'mhlos,  parlietilail\' 
the  Mokis,  owin.L;  to  their  sedentarx  lile,  ha\e  less  opporlnnit\ 
to  ilevelop  in  this  line,  hnl  the  Xa\ajos,  Sioux,  Crow>,  lilaek- 
feet,  and  Conianches  have  little  to  learn  al»oiu  roni; h- and- read \ 
racing.  It  .v;»)es  without  sayinj;  that  the  I^skiiuo,  AletUs,  Tliu 
kits,  Ilaidas,  and  other  Xorth-west  trihes,  whose  ran.i;e  of  lifi'  is 
on  and  by  the  sea,  have  no  knowledi;e  ot  handlini;  horses.  The\ 
never  adopted  the  hor.se,  because  it  was  as  useless  to  tlu-in  as  an 
elephant  or  a  hippopotanuis.  Hut  to  the  ])lains  tribt.s  this  animal 
came  like  a  j^ifl  from  the  i;<»ds,  and  the\-  appreciated  it  full>\  and 
liorses  became  their  .standard  of  wealth.  Some  tribes,  like  the 
Kaivavits,  l'ii!!-.;irets,  and  Shevwits  I'tes  of  northern  Arizona 
have  never  possessed  many  horses  because  of  their  po\tit\, 
l)Ut  there  were  always  a  j^oodly  ninnl)er  owned,  :ind  liorse-raciuiL; 
was  a  great  amusement  with  them,  as  well  a^  with  those  tribes 
>vhich  coinited  their  horses  by  the  th»»usand.  Dodgi-  describis 
an  amusing  race  that  took  place  near  ImhI  Chadi>ourni\  Texas, 
between  a  horse  of  a  Comanche  chief  and  three  horses  of  the 
officers  of  the  garrison,  which  illustrates  the  .\meiind  cl(\-iriKss 
in  the  jockeying  line.'  It  took  sexeral  da\s  of  manotu  i  inj.;  to 
bring  the  chief  to  the  jxiiiit,  and  then  a  race  was  arrani;ed  wiili 
the  third  best  hor.se  of  the  white  nui,.  Tlu-  distance  was  loin 
Inuidred  yards,  and  propert\'  to  the  :H;ioMvt  of  sixty  d<il!ars  .i  side 
was  wagered  on  tlie  result.  "  .\t  the  a])])ointed  tiuK-  all  the 
Indians  and  most  of  the  garrison  wen-  assembled  at  the  track. 
The  Indians  showed'  a  miserable  sheep  of  a  pon\  with  legs  like 
cluuns  ;  a  three  inch  coat  of  rouv;li  hair  stuck  out  all  over  the 
body,  and  a  general  expression  of  negkc't.  lulpK-ssness.  antl  patiiiit 
sufTeriiig  struck  pitv  into  the  hearts  of  all  beholdirs  Tin  lider 
was  a  stalwart  l)uck  of  one  lumdreil  and  .seviiitv  poini<ls,  l.M.kmg 
big  and  Strom;  itiough  to  carr\  the  ])oor  Inast  on  his  shoulders. 
He  was  armed  with  a  lutge  clul>.  with  whiclj,  after  the  word  was 
given,  liebelab»)red  the  misinlde  animal  from  start  to  fuiish.  To 
the  astonishment  of  all  tlu  whites,  the  Indian  won  b\-  a  neck. 
Another  race  was  proposed  b\  tin  oHicers  and,  .dti  i  much  "dick- 
ering,' accepted  b\   the  Indians,  ai.;,iii!st  the  mxt  In-st  horse  of  the 

'  CiA.  Rioli.inl  Irviiin  lUtA^^t-.   The  llani'^  i>f  tlir  i.itiit  H'l  \f.  yy.  \m.  ,a,V' 


'.* 


J 


!?i 


!  ■ 


•r 


i\ ' 


330 


Th(;   North-Americans  of  Yt-stcrday 


I'll 

1^ 


I  ■  i  ■ 

i, 
J' I  ■ 


'lii 


If 


i  ' 


h  l\ 


k 


garrison.  The  bets  were  doubled,  and  in  less  than  aJi  hour  the 
second  race  was  run  by  the  same  pony,  witli  tlie  same  apparent 
exertioti  and  with  exactly  the  same  result.  The  officers,  thoroughlj^ 
disgusted,  propc^sed  a  third  race,  and  brought  to  the  ground  a 
magnificent  Kentuckx  marc,  of  tlie  true  Lexington  blood,  and 
known  U)  beat  tlie  ])est  of  tht-  others  at  least  forty  yards  in  four 
hundred.  The  Indian.^  accepted  the  race,  and  not  only  doubled 
the  bets  as  bt-fore,  but  \n\ui\  up  everything  they  could  rai.se,  seem- 


U.  S.  I!m.  l.tli. 

|MM   i;i.l',    WIIISIIK    IN    ■|!Ulv\    <urr.\     lUiiM    (IIIUK.iI    I 
.Artii.il  si/c 

ingly  almost  crazed  with  the  excitement  of  their  pr.vi.)us  success. 
Tile  riders  mounted  ;  tlic  word  was  given.  Throwing  awa^'  hh 
club,  the  Indian  rider  gave  a  whoop,  at  which  the  sheep-like  p^.■u^ 
l)ricked  up  his  ears  and  'vc-nt  away  like  the  wind,  almost  two  feet 
to  the  mare's  one.  The  last  fifl>-  >  ards  of  the  course  were  run  by 
the  pony  with  the  rider  silting  face  to  his  tail,  making  hideous 
grimaces,  and  beckoning  to  tlie  riiler  of  the  mare  to  come  on.  It 
afterwards  transpired  that  the  old  sheep  was  a  trick  and  .straight 
])oiiy,  cck-bratcd  among  all  the  tribes  of  the  vSonth."  Yet  some 
])eople  think  the  Ainerif  1  has  no  sense  of  humour. 

vStory  telling  is  anotlu  r  amusement,  and  a  good  story  teller,  says 
Dodge,  is  a  man  t)f  importance.  "The  bucks,  and  .squaws,  and 
children  crowd  to  his  lodge,  or  any  other  wher*;  he  liappens  to  be, 
:ind  spentl  the  long  winter  evenings  listening  to  his  recitals. 
These  stories  are  as  marvellous  as  the  imagination  of  the  teller 
can  create,  jumbling  gods  nw.l  men,  fabulous  and  living  animals, 
the  ini])ossible  and  the  possible  in  the  most  heterog'^neous  con- 
fusion." ' 

The   Xavajos,   or  at  least  .some  of  them,   have   considerable 
'  /'/tins  ofihc  (ht\xt  Jf'fsf,  p.  .^24. 


ible 


Musical  Instruments,  Amusements,  and  Games 


jj 


dramatic  sense.  On  one  occasion,  when  some  Navajos  camped 
near  ns.  one  of  them  gave  an  exhibition  of  character  delineation 
that  would  have  done  credit  to  a  professional  actor.  Choosing  a 
large  bush  nearby  as  a  screen  for  his  costuming,  he  came  out  to 
the  fire  successively  representing  the  various  tiationalities  with 
wliicli  he  was  familiar.  Some  of  these  were  extremely  well  done. 
The  Pai  Ute,  for  instance,  is  poor  in  clothing  a?Kl  always  begging. 
Our  actor  took  off  all  his  clothing  but  the  breech-cloth,  approached 
the  fire  timidly  and  cringingly,  and  crouched  down  beside  it, 
drawing  tlie  back  of  his  hand  across  his  nose  with  an  accompany- 
ing snifBe,  and  exclaimed  in  Pai  Ute:  Tabac  ashanty  (I  want 
.some  loijacco).  Another  was  the  American,  who  stepped  nerv- 
ousl\-  to  tlie  fire,  and  restlessly  turned  first  front,  then  back, 
extended  his  hands,  rubbing  tliem  over  the  heat ;  held  up  first 
one  foot,  then  the 
other,  and  so  on. 
These  impersona- 
tions were  full  of 
the  character  of 
tlie  t}-pes  indi- 
cated. The  ex- 
hibition finally 
culnunated  in  ;i 
representation  of 
the  cliaracterislics 
of  Ills  own  people. 
Retiring  once 
again  behintl  tlie 
busli,  he  at  last 
ai)peare(l  with  his 
full  costume  on,  carefully  adjusted.  His  head  bore  a  red  tur- 
ban, his  shirt  was  held  b\-  a  fine  belt,  his  broad  Navajo  lrou>ers 
met  at  the  knee  the  red  buckskin  leggings,  ornamented  with  silver 
buttons,  and  his  leet  were  ])rotected  by  moccasins  finely  wrouglit, 
held  by  silver  buttons.  .\))out  his  shoulders  was  a  fine  blanket 
of  Xavajo  make,  and  across  his  back  a  large  bow  and  its  arrows  in 
a  panther-skin  case  and  quiver.  Approaching  the  fire  with  a 
measured,  haughty  tread,  head  erect  and  fi)lded  arms,  he  pau.sed 
majestically  l)efi)re  it.  straightened  to  his  full  height,  and  in  a 
deei>,  dignified  tone  spoke  the  single  word,  "  Navajo." 


N.ii.  Mu 


The 


sll'    OK    STAVrs    |-()K    C.AMK 
west  sliDws  ol)S'crse  nf  one  alxive.     I.enntli,  s';  in. 


i|. 


I 


iiUi 


i  {  ■  t 


ii' 


i 

I. 


J|l|; 


I 


r 


« 'I 


\ii  t 


M  i 


,i* 


:<  m 


V.  S.  liu.  I.ih. 

"  l!ANNI.I<-s|i)M,,"    rKNNl-SSKK 


CHAPTER  XII 

WORKS    AND    AGKICri.TrRK 

FOR  a  long  time  it  was  believed  by  the  whites  that  the  "  Indi- 
ans "  were  incapable  of  doing  anything  beyond  weaving 
baskets,  and  from  this  condition  of  ignorance  much  of  the 
confusion  concerning  the  Amerinds  has  arisen.  The  line  of  rea- 
soning was  based  on  some  such  s\llogism  as  this  :  The  "  Indian  " 
never  worked  ;  The  Cliff-dweller  and  the  Moundbuilder  worked 
at  building  houses  and  mounds;  Conclusioti,  The  ClitT-dweller 
and  the  Moundbuilder  were  not  "  Indians."  Short,  in  his  excel- 
lent book  on  the  Amerinds,'  applies  unfortunately  this  method  of 
reasoning  to  the  co])per-miue  workers  of  the  Lake  Superior  dis- 
trict, saying:  "  The  labour  involved  in  a  journe>-  of  a  thousand 
miles  from  the  Ohio  valky  to  the  copper  regions,  the  toil  of  the 
.sum'  .er's  mining,  and  the  tedious  transportation  of  the  metal  to 
thei.  homes  upon  iheir  backs,  and  l)y  means  of  an  imperfect  sys- 
tem of  mivigation,  nidicates  either  industrx-  and  resolution  such  as 
no  .savage  Indi.ui  ever  possessed,  or  a  condition  of  servitude  in  which 
thousands  occupied  a  position  of  abject  slavery."  This  seems  a 
complete  misunderstanding  of  the  ])eople  and  conditions  existinj^ 
on  this  continent.  Without  consuming  space  iti  di.scussing  these 
errors,  I  think  my  preceding  i)ages  have  demonstrated  that  far 
'John  T.  Short,  T/w  Xort/i  Ani'rirnnso/.lutii/uity. 


Works  and   Agriculture 


J. to 


'se 


from  lacking  iiulustry  and  resolution,  the  "savage  Indian"  was 
applying  himself  in  his  way  to  a  solution  of  the  life  problems 
which  surrounded  him.  He  knew  nothing  of  the  rules  of  com- 
merce, lK)ok-keei)ing,  and  exchange,  but  there  are  other  things 
in  the  world  besides  figures  and  accounts.  The  Amerind's 
game-snpi)l\'  and  clothing,  and  the  soil  about  him,  were  not  over- 
taxeil,  at  leasi  not  north  of  Anahuac,  till  the  whites  arrived  with 
tlieir  mania  for  "killing  something,"  and  introduced  on  this 
continent  the  destructive  practice  of  hunting  for  the  fun  of  seeing 
how  many  animals  could  be  killed  in  a  certain  time;  or  of 
killing  for  a  special  part  of  an  animal,  as  for  the  tongues,  or  the 
hides  and  tallow,  of  the  bison.  When  I  first  went  to  the  Far 
West  bison  were  spread  over  the  plains  by  thousands.  Not  a 
single  specimen  can  to-day  be  found  alive  outside  of  some  private 
herd  o:  the  Yellowstone  Tark.  Hunting,  as  before  mentioned, 
was  with  the  Amerind  labour,  not  amusement,  but  in  conjunction 
with  their  hunling  most  tribes  carried  on  farming  operations.  It 
has  often  been  asserted  that  the  "Indian"  did  no  work,  even 
leaving  the  cultivation  of  the  corn  and  squashes  to  the  women. 
That  the  women  in.  ^•,ome  of  the  tribes  tended  the  crops,  is  true, 
but  in  others,  like  the  Pueblos,  they  seldom  or  never  touched  hoe 
or  spade.  The  Kastern  men  were  hunting  or  building  boats,  or 
were  on  the  warpath,  hence  it  was  necessary  for  the  women  t(^ 
look  after  the  fields. 

In  the  Eastern  regions  the  crops  grew  witliout  watering,  but  in 
the  West  and  Soulh-west  the  soil  was  arid  and  irrigation  was 
necessary,  hence  there  are  found  to  this  day  remnants  of  extensive 
irrigation  canals  built  to  l)ring  rivers  out  on  the  dry  land.  The 
fact  that  the  resilient  Apaches  do  not  irrigate  d(X"S  not  prove 
that  these  great  canals  were  built  by  people  who  emigrated  from 
China  or  India,  in  the  absurd  line  of  argument  that  has  so  often 
been  advanced  in  discussing  Amerindian  affairs  ;  it  simph  i)roves 
that  the  Apaclies  did  not  cultivate  tlie  soil,  or  not  cxlensi\cl\- 
enough  to  recpiire  irrigating  works,  and  also,  over  again,  that 
tribes  and  stocks  e.xisl  in  a  region,  in  different  conditions  or  stages 
of  development,  either  at  tlie  same  time  or  ai  difllrent  times. 
These  irrigating  canals  are  un(iuestiotial)ly  tlu  vvork  ot  tribes 
similar  to  the  Pueblos:  that  is  now  well  establiidied.  They  were 
constructed  because,  in  an  UKieasing  population  iiid  a  jirobabU- 
decrease  of  precipitation,  the>  were  found  necessary.     An  increase 


It-ri 


;i|jii! 


'1  ■! 


t4l 


TT 


334  The;  North-Americans  of  \'(;stt;rclay 


I  ^ 


of  population  diinitiislics  the  food-supply  ;  in  an  arid  country 
where  ^anie  is  not  plenty  this  diminution  is  rapid.  A  correspond- 
ing (levelopnieuL  of  a  food  cro[)  is  the  inevitable  course,  unless 
the  tribe  were  to  migrate  to  more  humid  regions.  In  this  case, 
hostile  jx-'ople  already  there  might  have  to  be  met,  and  it  would 
be  easier  to  remain  at  the  old  place  and  invent  new  methods  of 
obtaining  food.      In  some  such  way  irrigating  and  its  attendant 


'    ■   I 


•n 


^  'tl'f 


I 


E 


« 


(0 


to 


to 


8pr««» 


Scale  m  feet  to  (be  incb. . 
U.  S.  Bu.  Eth. 

S()-C.M,I.F.I)    KI.KI'IIAN  r    MOl'ND,    WISCONSIN 
Has  been  plouglieil  over.     I,cii>;tli,  140  ft.;  gre.itest  height,  4  ft. 

engineering  developed.  Irrigating  canals,  then,  are  found  not 
where  any  lost  or  mysterious  race  once  dwelt,  nor  where  any  par- 
ticular Amerind  stock  were  living,  but  where  tli  i  climatic  con- 
ditiotis  an«.l  |^>pulation  made  irrigation  imperative.  These 
conditions  prevailetl  on  this  continent  in  Mexico  and  our  South- 
west, and  there  consequently  are  found  the  most  important  works 
of  this  kind.  The  remains  of  irrigating  canals  in  the  south-west- 
ern I'nited  States  are  numerous.  There  are  indications  of  them 
along  tl.e  fertile  bottoms  of  the  Colorado  River  in  Glen  Canyon. 
These  bottoms  are  deposits  .)f  alluvial  soil,  generally  occupying 
the  insidt  of  a  bend  at  the  base  of  the  cliffs.  They  are  of  various 
extent,  about  three  to  eight  feet  above  ordinary  high-water  mark, 
ami   ajv   frin.uLd   with   willows.     I  remember  examining  several 


Works  and   ALjriculturc 


1  -1  r 


indications  of  these  "  ditches."  hnt  un  I  made  no  notes  at  the  time, 
and  it  was  long  ago,  I  cannot  give  details.  There  were  rnins  of 
houses  here  and  there,  both  on  the  cliffs  and  helow,  and  the  cliff 
faces  bore  pictograplis.  Amongst  these  I  fonnd,  and  copied,  one 
which  suggested  some  kind  of  a  scaffolding  and  sweep  for  lifting 
water,  and  it  is  not  improbable  that  something  of  this  kind  was 
utilised  for  raising  water  from  the  river.  As  there  would  be  no 
opportunity  to  construct  a  canal  or  ditch  sufficiently  long  to  re- 
ceive water  by  natural  flow  from  the  river  owing  to  the  shortness 
of  the  alluvial  stretches,  a  system  of  lifting  it  into  the  ditches 
might  have  been  devised.  Water  might  have  been  obtained  also 
in  another  way.  The  country  on  both  sides  of  the  river  at  this 
point  is  composed  chiefly  of  barren  .surfaces  of  homogeneous  sand- 
stone which  collect  enijrmous  quantities  of  water,  like  the  roof  of 
a  house,  during  rain-storms,  and  pour  it  over  the  edges  of  the 
cliffs  and  down  the  alcoves  and  lateral  canyons.  This  water  may 
also  have  been  utilised  for  irrigating  purposes.  The  Mokis  utili.se 
showers  by  collecting  and  guiding  the  streandets  with  h^w  dams 


U.  S.  Ku.  Kth. 
AN'Cn-'.Nl'    lAllUIC    IiKSI(;N    I'KoM    IMI'KT.SSION    ON    l'i)|  II.RS',    ITAII 

hastily  thrown  up  by  their  hoes,  so  it  is  certain  that  all  these 
Amerinds  understood  thonmghly  the  importance  of  utilising 
shower- water  on  their  crops.' 

In  the  Verde  River  region  of  Arizona  .some  very  large  canals 
or  "ditches"  have  been  observed.  Mintkleff  has  described  a 
number  of  tlie.se,  and  I  will  mention  one  which  he  says  is  one  of 

'  From  the  Moki  method  of  giiiditii;  shoutr-waters  amoiiKst  the  corM  to 
guiding  waters  from  a  brook  or  rivir  in  that  way  would  not  be  a  great  ste])  ; 
indeed,  it  \sould  be  most  simple  and  natural  and  would  ea.>»ily  be  forced  by 
circuni-stances. 


!. 


m 


1 

\i 

i 

[\ 

1 

:)• 


J I 


■ff 


•i 


•'  i( 


!    I 


') 


'\ 


The   North-Americans  of  W-stcrtlay 


Ihc-  fiiR-st  he  has  seen.'  This  is  "about  two  miles  below  the 
nioiilh  of  Liinesloiie  Creek  on  the  opposite  or  eastern  side  of  ihe 
river."      The  canal  extends  across  the  northern  antl  western  pait 

In  one  place  it  is  marked 
"  by  a  ver>  shalhnv  IroUKh 


of  an  extent  of  fertile  bottom  land 


Yi 


in  the  ^rass-covered  boi- 
tom,  bounded  on  either 
side  b>-  a  low  ridj;e  of  earth 
and  i)ebl)les,  at  another  it 
was  cut  thn)U};h  a  low 
ridge.  It  is  jjiobable  that 
the  water  was  taken  out  of 
the  river  about  two  miles 
above  this  place,  but  the 
ditch  was  run  on  the  slop- 
ing side  of  the  mesa  which 
has  recentl)'  washed  out." 
It  is  suppo.sed  that  this 
ancient  canal  irrigated 
nearh-  the  whole  of  the 
l)ottom  land  mentioned, 
which  was  recently  again 
reel  a  i  m  ed  b>-  another 
"  ditch  "  or  canal  con- 
structed ])y  Americans. 
"The  ancient  ditch  is  well 
marked  by  two  clearly  de- 
fmed  lines  of  pebbles  and 
small  boulders. 
Probably  these  ])ebbles  en- 
tered into  its  construction, 
as  ilie  mi'lern  ditch,  washed  out  at  its  hea<l  .  .  .  shows  no 
iiacc  of  a  .similar  marking.  ' 

h'aiuuMg  was  carried  on  ver\-  much  as  the  Mokis  c;irr>-  it  on 
today,  except  lli.ii  the  .Mokis  do  not  have  to  l)uild  irrigating 
ditches,  the  showers  siippl>ing  by  their  nu;lhoil  water  enouj^li  to 
mature  the  crops.  A  German  has  recenll\-  settled  south-westerly 
trom  tile  Mokis  and,  I  have  been  told,  grows  .s.',ood  crops  on  his 

'  LKsiiios  MiinUliir,  ".\l)oriniuiil  Rtinaiiis  of  Verde  Viillcv,"    T/iirteenth 
Intl.  A'rpl.  Jiii.  Elh.,  \>.  a.vS. 


u.  s.  itii.  r.th, 

AN(  II.M     lAIIKH 


iKi.si  K\i.i>  i;v  coi'iTK  (  la.r, 

InWA 
Sc-e  \y.\vfi.  11)8 


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TIk;    Xortli-Aiiicric.'iiis   of   N'cslcrdav 


jilacf  without  inij^ation.  MiiKkkfT  fiirtlicr  states  tliat  "on  the 
soulhiTii  side  of  Ck-ar  Crct-k.  aWoiil  a  niik-  above  its  nit)iith,  llietc 
are  exleiisiw  horticultural  '  wotks  eo\-eiiii.L;  a  lai;;e  area  ol  tlie  ter- 
taee  or  liwr  htiieh.  .  .  .  h'or  a  (li^lallee  of  two  miles  ea>l  and 
west  ahdiL;  the  cieek,  ami  perhaps  hah  a  nnle  iiorlh  and  xnitii. 
there  are  traces  of  loiiner  works  iiertainiiii^  to  horticulture,  in<lu<l- 
iui;  irrii^^atiui;' ditches,  '  re>er\oirs,'  farmin.u;  (iullook>^,  elt."  The 
reservoirs  an-  supposed  hy  some  to  ha\e  heeii  thicshinj^-tlooi  s, 
heini;-  Iar,L;e  circular  (kpris^jdus  lined  with  cla\  .  TIr-  prodme 
deri\(.-d  Irom  ihesL'  larmin;.;  opi  rations  waN  corn,  beans,  xiuaslRs, 
and  cotton,  corn  bcin:;  the  prnu'ipal.  Cotton  was  j^rown  b\' 
some,  but  not  iill,  of  the  soulh-weslciu  tribes.  A  .L;reat  man\  of 
tlu'  trdies  lhroUi;hout  the  rnitt<i  Slates  and  Mexico  were  tarm- 
ers  to  a  -greater  or  less  extent,  and  many  ol'tlie  eaithworks  of  the 
Missis>ippi  \'alley  wvre  iii  all  pi'ob  ibiluy  counecii-d  with  aj^rioult- 
lire.      It  was  necessar\-  there  to  ])rotect  the  crops  from  maraudiui^; 


parties  from  wilder  tribes,  so,  in  all  i)rob;diilit\  ,  .sonu'  ol' the  earth- 
works, stninounted  by  pali>afles  or  b\  watch  houses,  >er\ed  to 
guard  llu'  i-rops  from  depredations.  .\b)r,L;an  thinks  sonu- ol' the 
square  ones  were   foiuidations  for  conununal   houses,'  and  this  is 


al 


so  ])rol) 


d)k 


( )n  the  upper  (iila  Ri\er  in  Aii/ona,  I'Vwkes  discovered  trace 


ol  leserx'oirs  and  urigatiUi;  canals. 


The  1; 


iri;e  circular  or  cIoiil; 


ated   o\a 


1    del 


)ression- 


lie    sa\s. 


in   the  immediate  nei'jlibdur- 


hood  of  some  of  the  house- mounds  haw  been  itkailified  as  the  sites 
of  lornier  iesrr\dirs.  .  .  .  The  reservoir  al  Ihieiia  X'ista  is  one 
of  the  larsjest  that  was  discoxered,  \el  no  iriivaliii''   dilclus  kad- 


iu<'  into  It  were  distinctK  traced 


There  is  abuudanl  e\-- 


idence  that  the  ancient  people  of  the  I'lieblo  \'iejo  \'alk\  leil  the 
water  tVoiu  the  (iila  KixHr  o\-er  the  ])Iain  by  means  of  c\uials  for 
l)iirposes  of  at^riculture,  fur  in  man\-  pl;ices  the  depressions  iii.irk- 
ini;  the  old  ditches  nia\  be  tr.iced  for  considerable  distames. 
I  ha\'e  been  ir,formed  by  some  of  the  older  residents  that 
when  the\-  came  into  the  countrx-,  betoie  the  Moule/.uma  and  vS.au 
Jose  irrii;;iliou  ditches  had  been  C(tustructe(l.  the  ancient  aipie- 
ducts  were  much  more  conspicuous  than  they  are  todax,  and  that 

'  Tlie  term  "  liortieulture  "  as  employed  by  some  writtrs  means  a^rieuh- 
ure  on  a  small  sealc,  the  operations  not  heinj<  considered  by  lliein  extensive 
enough  to  merit  the  title  of  agrienltnre. 

-'  Refer  to  jirevious  cliajHer  on  "  Areliitcotnre  and  Dwellings." 


Works  aiul    A-jriciiltiir 


j.>^ 


'V 


.1- 


lic 


l)V 


Hi- 


ll IC 

lU- 

iiisj, 

ih- 

l    b) 


;lCfS 


lur- 

.ilvs 

DllL' 


(.•;ui 


ihe 


1(  ti- 


ll.n 


k- 


lU'L-S. 

,  ihat 
San 

aque- 
Ihat 

riouli- 
(.•nsivc 


scctiotis  of  till'  tiKiikrii  (liU'lu-^  fiilldW   ll;.'  ('tni-f  ot'  the  aiicittit 
walcrwaN  s.  "  ' 


A     \ii|l\l      All/    111      |\|i||l      IkiiM     Ml   Mill.     ^IIiiWIM;     lUiiNI      Wh    -Ihl 

Meit;lil,  i>i|,j  ill.  :  willli,  Ti  in.  ;  tliii  kiicss,  4!;  in.      I  lii;lily  pulislifil ;  1  ulcir  lii;lit  i;r.i\i-li  urecn  \\  iili 
strr.iUs  I  I  oiniT.il'l  urrrn  nn  tin-  I  mi  k.      .\  1    ■iiipiiti-  liiini.iii  liunnv      >ci'  p.im-   141   lor  Im'  k. 

The  A/.ti'O'^  Ixiilt  Ion;.;  :i<|iK'(lticts  tn  mi])].ly  tluir  town--   ami  llu' 


M: 


i\as  ooiistnu'lt-Ml  l;ir''e   irsriA'Dirs.      Clianiax-  ^a\^ 


ic'coniinir 


'J.    Wiiltt-r    In-wkts,    "  rrtlimni:iry    .Account    of    Anli  loloi.  ical    I'iild 


\\ 


i! 


Work  ill  Ari/.<iii:i  in  i^<)7,"  Siiiit/is(>iii,ni  A'i/>  r/.  iNi)7,  p.  ')i. 


H 


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Hiotographic 

Sciences 

Corporation 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14S80 

(716)  872-4503 


(Xi 


mmm 


i  ■ 


! '  4 


340 


The   North-Americans  of  Yesterday 


,  ^ 


'I  I 


h     >.  '' 


I  i 


to  historians  of  the  Conquest,  Kl  vSalto  del  Agua  (a  nioiuuiiental 
fountain  in  the  City  of  Mexico)  and  the  aqueduct  which  it  termin- 
ates replaced  the  ancient  aqueduct  of  Montezuma  constructed  by 
Netzahu.alcoyotl,  King'  of  Tezcuco,  between  the  years  i.[2'j  and 
1440.  At  that  time  it  was  brought  through  an  earthen  pipe  to  the 
city,  along  a  dyke  constructed  for  the  purpose,  and  that  tliere 
might  be  no  failure  in  so  essential  an  article,  a  double  course 
of  pipes  in  stone  and  mortar  was  laid.  In  this  way  a  column  of 
water  the  size  of  a  man's  bod}-  was  conducted  into  the  heart  of  the 
capital."  ' 

George  Bancroft  makes  the  statement  that  "of  the  labours  of 
the  Indians  on  the  soil  of  Virginia,  there  remains  nothing  so  re- 
»pectal)le  as  would  be  a  common  ditch  for  the  draining  of  lands,"  ^ 
but  in  this  Bancroft  was  somewhat  mistaken,  for  Thonms  describes' 
some  mounds  in  West  \''irginia,  which  was  Virginia  when  the 
above  .sentence  was  written,  that  were  undoubtedly  the  work  of 
some  of  the  Amerinds  formerly  occupying  that  soil.  "  First  the 
earth  (unless  the  place  .selected  is  a  bare  rock)  is  removed  o  the 
.solid  rock  foundation  and  an  approxinmtely  level  .space  from  ten 
to  thirty  feet  in  diameter  formed.  Centrally  on  this  was  placed  a 
layer  of  flat  stones,  with  the  edge  inward,  around  a  circle  about 
tlu'ee  feet  in  diameter.  Upon  the  outer  edge  of  these,  others  were 
placed  with  their  outer  edges  resting  upon  the  prepared  founda- 
tion running  entirely  round  the  circle.  Then  another  inner  layer 
with  the  l:)est  edge  inward  and  the  thiinier  edge  resting  on  the 
outer  la>er,  the  stones  of  one  layer  breaking  joints  with  tho.se  be- 
low, as  far  as  the  size  and  form  would  admit.  Outside  of  the 
iinier  row,  and  with  the  edges  resting  on  it.  otlier  circles  were 
added  until  a  diameter  ranging  from  twenty  to  fil'ly  feet  or  even 
more  was  attained,  thus  extending  upon  the  .sloping  earth  not  re- 
moved in  forming  the  foundation.  The  last  or  outer  circle  usually 
consisted  of  but  a  .single  layer,  over  which  earth  was  thrown,  being 
sometimes  heaped  up  until  it  equalled  in  contents  the  rock  pile. 
Tlie  height  of  these  piles  was  found  to  vary  from  four  to  eight 
feet,  in  one  or  two  instances  reaching  ten  feel.  But  in  all  cases 
the  circular  space  or  opening  in  the  centre  continued  to  the  top  the 
same  diameter  as  at  the  bottom,  somewhat  resembling  the  so-called 

'  Desire  Charnay,  Ancient  Cities,  p.  36. 

"^  Bancroft,  History  0/ the  United  States,  vol.  i.,  p.  209. 

»  Cyrus  Thomas,  Tivel/tli  Ann.  Rept,  Bu,  Eth.,  p.  408. 


;  11 


ida- 

yer 

the 

V)e- 

tlie 
were 
even 
it  re- 
luiUy 
jeing 

pile. 

sight 
cases 

p  the 

ailed 


Works  and   ALiriciiIturc? 


341 


'well-holes'  of  tlie  early  western  i~)ioiieers.'"  The  stones  used  in 
these  constructions  were  ol)taine(l  !)>•  "  rude  qnarrxinj;  in  sUatified 
cliffs  one  half  mile  distant.     vSonie  of  them  measure  from  four  to  six 


American  Museum 


From  Monumental  Records 
liACK    OK    VOTIVE    AD/, 
For  front  ami  side  see  page  334 


feet  in  length,  half  as  wide,  and  of  a  thicknes,'  which  renders  them 
so  heavy  as  to  require  from  two  to  four  stout  men  to  handle 
them."  Skeletons  were  found  in  ca\ities  of  these  i)iles  "with 
head  or  feet  (generally  tlie  lalier)  toward  tlie  central  well-hole  " 


1,1 

} 
'i 

Si 

m 


m 

1 


i. 


'    If 


.  i 


i 

ill 
r 

(!      I 


.    'I 


342  The   North-Americans  of  Yesterday 

Coarse  pottery,  rude  large  celts,  lance-  and  arrow-heads  were 
also  discovered,  and  "all  the  cavities  of  the  heap  not  originally 
used  for  burial  are  filled  with  earth  or  mortar,  often  well  baked 
by  fire."  '  Many  mounds  and  other  earthworks  have  been 
found  in  the  western  Virginia  region,  and  in  some  of  them  copper 
articles  have  been  brought  to  light. ■  In  New  York  there  are 
many  mounds  called  "old  forts,"  of  various  shapes,  with  walls 
from  one  and  one  half  to  two  feet  or  more  high,  and  thence  west- 
ward, throughout  the  Mississippi  valley,  mounds  and  earthworks 
of  many  shapes  and  sizes  are  found.  They  appear  to  be  concent- 
rated in  various  centres,  with  a  sprinkling  in  between  suggest- 
ing a  number  of  different  groups  of  Amerinds  as  their  builders, 
which  has  been  pretty  well  established  by  evidence  was  the  case. 
Some  of  the  mounds  were  of  enormous  size,  the  famous  one  at 
Cahokia,  Illinois,  being  one  of  the  highest  and  largest  on  the  cv.  1- 
tinent.  Its  altitude  is  about  ninety  feet,  and  it  contains  nearly 
500,000  cubic  yards  of  earth.  Its  purpose  is,  of  course,  not  known, 
but  it  probal)ly  supported  some  religious  structure  of  wood. 
Many  of  the  mounds,  as  pointed  out  in  the  chapter  on  dwell- 
ings, were  merely  supports  for  buildings,  religious  or  otherwise. 
Others  were  connected  with  religious  rites  in  other  ways.  Doubt- 
less the  figures  of  birds  found  in  Wisconsin  represented  the 
"Thunder-bird,"  of  which  there  are  legends  and  traditions  in 
many  tribes.  It  was  to  the  Amerind  the  cause  of  the  thunder  and 
lightning.  These  great  and  small  earthworks  v.'ere  constructed  in 
the  United  States  by  scooping  up  earth  from  the  vicinity  and  car- 
r\lng  it  in  baskets  to  the  designated  spot.  The  United  States 
mounds  are,  as  a  rule,  made  of  earth,  those  of  Mexico  and  Cen- 
tral America  of  clay  or  adobe  brick,  faced  with  .stone  or  wholly  of 
stone.  ' '  It  is  often  the  case, ' '  says  Thomas,  speaking  of  the  burial 
mounds  of  the  Mississippi  valley,  "when  a  mound  is  carefully 
excavated  and  closel}'  .scamied  as  the  work  proceeds,  especially 
where  the  material  is  clay  or  muck,  that  the  individual  loads  can 
be  readily  discerned.  As  the  earth  of  which  ihe  mounds  is  com- 
posed is  usually  gathered  up  from  the  sunounding  surface,  the  in- 
terior will  vary  in  color  and  character  only  as  the  soil  so  gathered 

'  Cyrus  Thomas,  Tu<elfth  Ann.  Rcpt.  Bu.  Eth.,  p.  408. 

'^  In  New  EiiKland  there  was  once  a  fortification  in  Sanbornton,  N.  H., 
which  had  walls  six  feet  tliick  and  breast-hi^h,  faced  outside  with  stout. — 
Winsor,  Nar,  and  Crit.  Hist.,  vol.  i.,  p.  404. 


Works  and  A^jfriculture 


34: 


up  varies.  .  .  .  The  places  from  wlience  material  was  taken 
to  build  the  small  or  moderate-sized  mounds  are  seldom  discerni- 
ble at  the  present  day,  but  depressions  i)lainh'  mark  the  points 
about  the  larger  works,  as  the  Cahokia  and  Ktowah  mounds  and 
some  of  the  enclosures  of  Ohio  and  elsewhere.'  In  some  ca.ses  the 
one  act  has  been  made  to  .serve  two  purpo.ses,  t.iat  is  to  say,  the 
earth  u.sed  to  construct  the  mound  or  other  work  has  been  taken 
from  one  or  two  points  so  as  to  leave  a  basin-shaped  excavation 
for  holding  water,  or  to  form  a  trench  to  .serve  as  a  protective 
moat,  or  for  drainage  or  other  purposes."  For  a  long  time  it  was 
believed  by  a  great  many  persons,  scientific  and  otherwise,  that 
these  piles  of  earth,  often  called  pyramids  quite  erroneously,  coultl 
not  have  been  made  by  ordinary  Amerinds,  but  as  the  study  of  the 
native  American  proceeded  and  the  data  of  what  he  did  and  does 
actually  do  began  to  be  recorded,  it  was  perfectly  plain  that  it  was 
not  at  all  necessary  to  look  beyond  the  "  Indian  "  for  the  origin  of 
the  mounds — that  is,  beyond  the  "  Indian  "  as  he  was  known  in  the 
region  where  the  mounds  occur.  It  was  found  that  he  had 
erected  mounds  after  the  arrival  of  the  whites,  and  if  he  built  one 
or  several  he  might  have  built  all.  It  was  not  a  very  difficult  op- 
eration to  dig  up  earth  and  carry  it  a  few  hundred  feet  and  drop 
it  on  a  pile.  The  transportation  of  the  stones  referred  to  above 
was  far  more  laborious,  and  modern  Amerinds  do  a  great  deal 
harder  work.  The  Navajos  are  fairly  good  labourers,  and  the  Mo- 
kis  carry  all  their  wood  from  forests  fifteen  miles  away.  It  is  work 
to  carry  water  up  the  cliffs  where  the  Mokis  live,  it  is  work  to 
hoe  the  corn,  it  is  work  to  tend  and  herd  sheep.  On  full  investiga- 
tion it  seems  Strang.^  that  it  should  ever  have  been  thought  that 
the  mounds  were  not  "  Indian"  becau.se  they  represented  work. 
Fowke  has  estimated  that  a  mound  a  hundred  feet  in  diameter 
and  twenty  feet  high  could  have  been  erected  by  the  "  Indians  " 
in  forty-two  days.  I  have  seen  Uingkaret  Utes  in  Arizona  carry 
on  their  backs  with  ease  for  twelve  or  fifteen  miles  loads  that 
would  average  about  thirty  or  forty  pounds.  People  who  can  do 
this  could  carry  earth  in  short  stretches  for  forty  or  fifty  days.  It 
is  probable,  however,  that  the  mounds  were  not  built  by  steady 
and  consecntive  labour,  but  rather  by  intermittent  effort,  after  the 
usual  fashion  of  Amerindian  work. 

'  The  ^reat  Cahokia  mound  in  Illinois  is  seven  luindred  feet  by  five 
hundred  feet  on  the  ground.    For  illustration  of  Ktowah  mound  see  page  337. 


I 


5 '  ■'   ' ; 


,  ■•■< 


i.< 


i\ 


fT 


u 


:•-'  * 


544 


The   North-Americans  of  Yesterday 


I'roiii  New  York 


Many  mounds  and  earthworks  were  erected  for  defensive 
purposes  at  points  controlling  river  passages  or  trails,  where  tlie  ad- 
vance of  foes  invad- 
ing a  country  could 
be  checked.  There 
were  also  fortifica- 
tion works  like  the 
so-called  "  liill- 
forts ' '  of  the  east- 
ern portion  of  the 
United  States,  and 
the  ''  cerros  trin- 
chcras  "  of  northern 
Mexico.  Quot- 
ing again  from 
Thomas,'  one  of 
the  best  authorities 
on  m  o  li  n  d  s  and 
"Moundbuilders"  : 
"  The  most  exten- 
sive example  of  the 
'  hill-forts'  is  that 
k  n  o  w  n  a  s  Fort 
Ancient,  in  War- 
ren County,  Ohio. 
This  crowns  a  spur 
of  the  bluff  some 
two  hundred  and 
lifty  or  three  hun- 
dred fee  t  hi  gh  , 
which  here  over- 
hangs the  Miami 
River.  The  area 
embraced  is  only 
some  seventy  -  five 
or  eighty  acres,  but  the  length  of  the  wall,  which  follows  all 
the  windings  and  zigzags  of  the  margin  of  the  bluff  and  of  the 
side  ravines,  is  a  little  over  three  miles  and  a  half.  This  is  one 
of  the  best-preserved  monuments  of  the  Ohio  valley,  the  surround- 
'  Cyrus  Thomas,  Study  of  North  American  Archcrology,  p.  125. 


Krom  Illinois 


U.  S,  Bu.  Eth.  ['"mm  Tennessee 

I'AirKRNS  or  ANCU-.NT  KAIiKKS  I-RllM   I'OTTKRY 
See  page  io8 


Works  and  A'n'iculture 


345 


iu^  wall  being  uninjured  save  at  points  where  the  turnpike  cuts 
through  it,  and  at  a  few  jjlaces  where  ravines  have  been  formed 
since  it  was  abandoned.  This  wall,  which  is  partly  of  stone,  but 
chieflj-  of  dirt  thrown  up  from  the  inner  or  upper  side,  varies  in 
height  from  three  or  four  to  nineteen  feet,  and  from  twenty-five  to 
seventy  feet  in  width  at  the  base.  As  tlie  earth  has  all  been  taken 
from  the  inside  (except  along  the  iiigh  wall  which  crosses  the  level 
at  the  rear)  and  thrown  outward  on  the  crest  of  the  slope,  this  has 
left  an  inside  ditch.  As  a  rule,  the  wall  is  strongest  and  highest  at 
the  points  of  easiest  approach  ;  and  at  some  places  the  outside  .slope 
has  been  artificially 
.steepened,  proving  be- 
yond any  reasonable 
doubt  that  the  work 
was  one  of  defence." 

The  Amerinds, 
though  not  always  en- 
gaged in  war,  were 
always  on  the  defens- 


ive 


aganist 


.stronger 


tribes  whose  warriors 
might  api)ear  on  the 
scene.  The.se  stronger 
tribes  were  not  neces- 
sarily Amerinds  of  a 
different  stock  or 
strangers  ;  often,  as  in 
the  South-west,  de- 
fen.sive  works  were 
erected  against  relat- 
ives a  s  m  u  c  li  a  s 
against  different 
tribes,  just  as  we,  in 
our  time,  have  had 
three  wars  that  were  not  with  another  race.  In  New  Mexico  the 
villages,  besides  being  built  on  the  communal  principle,  were  often 
surrounded  bj-  a  defensive  wall.  Such  a  wall  can  still  be  traced 
around  the  ruins  of  Pecos,  as  well  as  in  parts  at  other  ruins.  The 
hill-forts  of  the  Ohio  kind  were  undoubtedly  the  result  of  circum- 
stances .similar  to  tho.se  that  prevailed  in  the  South-west :  a  desire 


U.  S.  Bii.  Eth. 

ESKIMO    MKfllAMCAI,   TOY. 


}4 


I 


I 


III 


ff' 


1 

1 

i„( 

4 

.   J 

* 

i 

:1! 

■■t, 


w 


] 


n 


546 


Tlu;   Nortli-Amcricans  of  Yesterday 


to  combine  as  closelv  as  possible  defence  and  the  cultivation  of  the 
soil.  They  were  often  interdependent.  If  conditions  changed,  or 
a  tribe  grew  strong  enough  to  dominate  the  .situation,  the  defences 
might  be  abandoned.  These  works  do  not  necessarily  imply  that 
their  builders  were  defeated  and  driven  back  by  wilder  tribes. 
They  indicate  only  that  the  builders  felt  defensive  works  necessary 
at  the  time  of  the  iniilding  ;  their  circumstances  then  demanded 
them.  They  do  not  indicate  difference  in  race  or  remote  origin. 
The  constructors  were  Amerinds,  though  not  all  one  stock.  There 
were  tribes  of  different  stocks  in  the  Mississippi  valley  all  the 
time,  just  as  there  were  in  other  parts  of  the  land,  and  the  attempt 
that  has  been  made  by  some  writers  to  establish  the  idea  that  the 
Mississippi  valley  was  once  (jccupied  by  a  single  mysterious  race 
that  was  overpowered  and  driven  out  or  exterminated  bj-  the 
"  Indians  "  has  no  good  foundation. 

One  of  the  most  extensive  groups  of  these  defensive  village 
.sites  is  that  known  as  the  Newark  group,  in  Ohio.'  Here  are  cir- 
cles, .squares,  and  straight-line  mounds,  all  connected,  covering  an 
r.rea  of  two  or  three  .square  miles.  There  are  two  large  circles  in 
this  group  which  approximate  true  circles,  and  have  been  the 
liasis  of  much  unnecessary  speculation  as  to  how  "  Indians  "  could 
have  "  done  it,"  with  the  conclusion  that  the  "  mystericms  race  " 
(lid  it.  When  it  is  remembered  how  easy  it  is  to  construct  a  fairly 
accurate  circle  in  a  great  many  ways,  it  is  surprising  that  anyone 
should  have  thought  "Indians"  could  not  do  it,  when  they  did 
and  do  .so  many  things  that  require  more  skill.  One  clear-headed 
and  accurate  writer  reminds  the  reader  that  people  who  could 
manufacture  cloth  could  certainly  make  a  rope  with  which  to  lay 
out  a  plan.  Almost  all  Amerinds  could  make  rope,  the  Pai  Ute, 
Uingkarets,  and  Shevwits  Utes,  who  cannot  make  cloth  at  all, 
making  excellent  rope  and  cord.  But  it  was  not  nece.s.sary  to 
make  a  rope  of  fibre.  Amerinds  have  always  been  skilful  at  tan- 
ning deerskins,  and  buckskin  strings  braided  make  one  of  the 
best  kind  of  ropes  ;  indeed,  it  does  not  even  require  to  be  tanned, 
as  it  can  be  worked  in  the  rawhide  state.  We  should  have  to  de- 
scend low  in  the  scale  of  humanity,  indeed,  to  find  a  tribe  that 
could  not  make  a  cord  long  enough  to  lay  out  any  circle  yet  di.s- 
covered  on  this  continent.     There  is  nothing  difficult  about  it. 

'  Gerard  Fowke  describes  in  the  Aiiirriaiit  Anthropologist,  N.  S.,  vol.  ii, 
No.  3,  "  Poiuts  of  difference  between  Norse  Remaius  and  Indian  works." 


.1  n 


Works  and   A<'riculture 


34  7 


Tlie  largest  circle  at  Newark  has  a  diameter  of  about  a  Ihousaiicl 
feet.     This  would  require  a  rope  ouly  five  hundred  feet  long, 


:(: 


11 


'M 


U    S.  Nat.  Mu.  George  Catlin,  1832 

MAHTOt6hI'A   (the    KOUR    UKARS),    a   MANDAN    CIIIKl' 


'n 


which  would  be  nothing  for  any  tribe  on  the  continent  to  make. 
Just  why  the  Newark   works   have   the   particular  arrange- 
ment they  have  would  be  impossible  to  .say  without  knowing  the 


t   V 


•rr 


s  ' 

■  i 


lib 


W  ; 


l;'«    f 


III  f 


'I 


!i 


34« 


'IMuj    Xorth-Anic-ricaiis  of   W'stcrda)' 


customs  of  the  tribe  thai  biiill  them  and  the  circumstances  of  llie 
time.  It  is  probable,  however,  that  some  ench)sures  were  farm 
fences.  The  plan  suL;<;ests  two  connnunal  \illages,  closely  allied 
and  united  by  a  sort  of  runwa}-,  which,  while  preventing-  lios- 
tiles  from  separating  the  two  villages  in  time  of  attack,  ahva\s 
afforded  a  safe  passage  for  the  women  and  children  from  one  town 
to  the  other.  The  builders  were  evidenth-  beset  1)>-  enemies  a  I  llie 
time  the  works  were  occupied,  but  this  does  not  necessarily  imply 
that  when  the  works  were  abandoned  the  occuj)ants  were  dri\en 
out  or  aiuiihilated,  for  their  enemies  may  have  been  people  of  their 
own  stock  with  whotu  they  eventually  became  reconciled,  o;-  the 
enemies  may  have  passed  on  to  other  fields,  or  the  occupants  of 
the  works  may  have  grown  more  powerful  and  at  length  ha\e 
assumed  the  offensive.  Abandoned  works,  I  repeat,  do  not  neces- 
sarily mean  annihilation  of  the  builders.  The  South-west  offers 
countless  examples  of  the  truth  of  this  statement.  Villages  and 
works  were  abandoned  there  for  a  variety  of  causes  ;  sometimes  it 
^vas  little  more  than  caprice.  Quoting  Thomas  again  :  "  Nor  is 
the  theory  that,  while  some  of  the  monuments  are  due  to  the 
Indians,  others  are  to  be  ascribed  to  a  different  race,  justified  by 
the  data,  or  reasonable,  as  no  one  is  able  to  define  the  characters 
which  distinguish  the  classes.  If  the  Indians  built  mounds  of  the 
most  advanced  type  and  of  large  size,  as  history  shows  positi\-ely 
the  natives  of  the  Gulf  States  did,  there  is  no  necessity  for  attrib- 
uting the  works  of  the  middle  and  northern  sections  to  a  different 
race.  That  the  Moundbuilders  were  divided  into  various  and 
often  contending  tribes,  is  shown  by  the  works  for  defence  and 
protection,  as  also  by  the  evidences  of  varying  customs.  Yet 
there  is  nothing  in  the  antiquities  to  indicate  a  higher  culture  than 
that  of  the  southern  Indians  or  a  greater  difference  between  the 
people  of  the  different  sections  than  existed  among  the  natives 
when  first  encountered  by  the  whites."  Granting  this,  there  is 
still  nothing  to  prove  that  some  of  these  tribes  did  not  come 
from  a  long  distance  off,  for  the  Amerinds  very  often  have  been 
travellers. 

Few  mounds  or  earthworks  are  found  east  of  the  Alleghany 
Mountains,  north  of  Tennessee  and  North  Carolina,  but  to  my 
mind  this  is  not  positive  proof  that  the  people  who  built  earthworks 
in  other  places  did  not  live  there.  The  Amerind  changes  his 
methods  so  completely  when  circumstances  demand,  that  it  would 


1^ 


i:' 


Aiiurlcan  Museum 


PliotugnipheJ  and  described  l)y  M.  H.  S.iville  for  the  American  Museiini  Bulli-tii:.  vol.  xiii., 

article  xi.,  July  q,  igtxj 

AN    <iNV\    JAR    I'KOM    MKXHu    IN    l'i;u(-|>S    ol-    MANfl  .\(   I'l' Kl", 

rhref-eiy;hths  natural  size 

The  exiavatiiig  w;is  being  done  by  a  hollow  drill,  priibably  of  rted,  :ind  sand 


'il  ' 


34'J 


TT' 


:■ 


I     • 
f     1 


v3D 


{ ) 


1  he,    Xortli-Anicricuiis  of   \ Cstcrclay 


not  be  safe  to  saj-  tliat  those  who  built  mounds  west  of  the  Alle- 
gliany  ranj^e  did  not  live  east  of  it.  If  the  Mokis  should  have 
inii;rated  to  Ohio  in  priscan  days,  they  certaiidy  would  not  have 
l)uiU  stone  houses  there.  They  would  have  erected  mounds  and 
W(iodeu  houses,  for  the  reason  that  the  stone  woiUd  have  been 
difficult  to  .secure.  Many  tribes  have  readily  changed  from  one 
method  to  another  in  building,  as  pointed  out  in  a  j^revious 
chai)ter.  With  the  Amerind,  it  depends  .so  much  on  circumstances 
what  he  will  do  in  a  given  locality.  For  example,  the  traditions 
of  the  Mokis  require  their  kiva  to  be  under  ground.  This  is  easy 
in  their  cliff-land,  but  how  would  it  be  in  Louisiana  ?  ]Cven  in 
Zufii  surface  kivas  are  found  acceptable. 

In  Mexico  there  are  numertms  large  mounds  which,  as  noted 
before,  sustained  buildings,  now  connnonly  called  "  temples." 
"At  Teotihuacan  "  says  Charnay,  "the  pyramid  of  the  Sun  is 
six  hundred  and  eight}-  feet  at  the  base  by  one  hundred  and 
eighty  feet  high.  .  .  .  Like  all  great  pyramids  they  [the 
vSun  and  Moon  pyramids]  were  divided  into  four  storeys,  three 
of  which  are  still  visible,  but  the  intermediate  gradations  are 
almost  effaced.  A  temple  stood  on  the  summit  of  the  large 
mound,  having  a  colos.';al  statue  of  the  Sun,  made  of  one  single 
block  of  stone.  .  .  .  The  interior  of  the  pyramid  is  com- 
po.sed  of  clay  and  volcanic  pebbles,  incrusted  on  the  surface 
with  the  light  porous  stone,  tetzontli.  Over  this  was  a  thick  coat- 
ing of  white  stucco  such  as  was  used  for  dwellings.  Where  the 
pyramid  is  much  defaced,  its  incline  is  from  31  to  36  degrees,  and 
where  the  coatings  of  cement  .still  adhere  47  degrees."  '  One  of 
the  largest  mounds  in  Mexico  and  one  of  the  largest  in  Xortli 
America  is  the  Great  Mound  of  Cholula.  It  is  about  one  thousand 
feet  .square  at  the  base,  of  which  the  approximate  area  is  over 
twenty  acres.  It  now  has  nnich  the  appearance  of  a  natural  hill, 
surmounted  by  a  church  of  modern  construction.  There  are 
"  three  distinct  projections,  surrounding  and  supporting  a  conical 
hill,  and  .separated  from  each  other  by  wide  depressions.  The 
entire  mass  consists  of  adobe  bricks  laid  in  adobe  clay,  undisturbed 
except  where  erosion,  earthquakes,  or  the  hand  of  man  have  muti- 
lated it.  The  bricks  break  joints  and  are  of  various  sizes."  ■  The 
altitude  is  about  two  hundred  feet.     Limestone  slabs  were  used 

'  Ancient  Cities. 

'  Ad.  Bandelier,  Archceological  Tour,  p.  233  et  seq. 


Works  and    \*'riiiiliiirc 


^5^ 


for  steps.  Riuulflicr  does  iiol  iiscril)e  il  to  the  Aztec  or  N:ilm:itl 
stock  which  occupied  the  region  at  tlie  lime  of  the  Cotupiesl.  hut 
to  some  anterior  tribe. 

It  lias  l)eeii  called  n  ]nraniid,  with  other  mounds  in  Mexicn 
and  Central  America,  but  this  is  not  a  pro[)er  term  for  lhe>e 
Amerindian  works. 

They  have  not  the  character  of  the  IvKyptian  pyramids,  nor 
were  they  constructed  with  the  same  object.  The  pyramids  were 
tombs,  while  the  lar<;e  Amerind  mounds  were  /oinida/ions  for 
l)uildin,i;s.  Almost  every  ancient  building  of  any  ctjusefjuence  in 
Mexico  and  adjoining  regions,  as  well  as  far  up  into  the  United 
States,  stood  on  a  mound  of  greater  or  less  elevation.  The  .so-called 
"palace"  of  Palenque,  in  which  .Stevens  lived  while  studying  the 
ruins,  "  stands  on  an  artificial  eie\'ation  of  an  oblong  f(jrm,  fortv 
feet  high,  three  hundred  and  ten  feet  in  front  and  rear,  ami  two 
hundred  and  sixty  feet  on  each  side.  This  elevation  was  formerly 
faced  with  stone,  which  hi  been  thrown  down  by  the  growth  of 
trees,  and  its  form  is  hardl}  distinguishable."  See  illustration  of 
a  part  of  this  palace,  y  ;ge  Y'2i- 

The  chief  ruins  at  Copnn  are  all  on  a  huge  mound,  and  at 
Mitla  the  edifices  have  mound  foundations,  or  rather  platforms. 
A  more  or  le.ss  elevated  site  for  his  dwelling-place  or  temple, 
whether  natural  or  artificial,  seems  to  have  been  almost  universal 
with  the  Amerindian  people  from  the  Isthmus  of  Panama  to  British 
Columbia.  The  amount  of  labour  expended  in  constructing  the 
artificial  foundation  platforms  and  mounds  was  something 
prodigious. 


U.  S.  N.-it.  Mu. 

WOODEN   I-UOD   BOWL,  IIAIUA 


I 


I 

I 
i" 


ii!;, 


•IT 


r-'.  1 
)  ■ 


'1 


1(1      ' 


B!  1       ■   1 


VCh- 


U.  S.  Bu.  Eth. 
DANCING  MASK  OK   Tilt:  MAKAIIS,  WASHINGTON 


CHAPTER  XIII 


I     i 


CUSTOMS  AND  CEREMONIKS 

FEW  Europeans  can  look  at  the  world  from  the  Amerind 
point  of  view,  because  few  know  what  it  means  to  have 
lands  free.  Happy  the  man  who  has  trod  the  wilderness 
primeval,  and  tasted  the  world  in  its  original  freshness.  He  alone 
can  understand  what  tlie  Amerind  has  lost  forever.  When  I  first 
went  into  the  V\'est  about  thirty  years  ago,  the  regions  we  tra- 
versed were  untamed,  and  often  we  did  not  meet  even  Amerinds 
for  weeks  at  a  time.  Such  a  condition  has  its  charms,  and  when 
we  remember  that,  except  in  the  southern  regions  of  Mexico,  the 
native  American  was  born  and  bred  to  it,  we  can  see  that  it  must 
be  a  difficult  matter  for  him  to  suddenly  change.  But  a  few  genera- 
tions hence,  where  once  he  scaled  the  cliffs,  or  followed  the  deer, 
he  will  be  sitting  down  to  a  course  dinner  in  a  swallow-tail  coat. 
He  has  already  conquered  at  football,  and  the  rest  of  tlie  down- 
ward road  will  be  easy  for  him  ! 

Our  general  impression  of  the  native  American,  the  Amerind, 
is  that  he  is  a  kind  of  human  demon,  or  wild  animal,  never  to  be 
trusted,  unable  to  keep  a  compact,  always  thirsting  for  gore  ;  but 
it  is  a  mistake.     He  is  not  altogether  luireliable.     The  Iroquois 

352 


m. 


1'\ 


tra- 


■riiid, 
to  be 
but 
quois 


Customs  and   Ceremonies 


JOO 


maintained  the  "  covenant  chain  "  with  the  British  unbroken  for 
a  round  century.  The  Amerind  never  broke  faith  with  Penn,  and 
it  is  seldom  that  he  will  violate  any  compact  that  he  fully  under- 
stands he  has  entered  into.     His  dail\-  life  in  the  earlier  tlavs  was 


U.  S.  Nat.  Mu. 

.MdKI  WICKKR  CRAni.K  WITH  .WVNING  CARRYING  BASKET  OK  THE  ARIKAREES 

In  the  smaller  fii;iire  the  awnint;  is  over  the  bowed  end 

by  no  means  bloodthirsty.  Powell  has  truly  said  that  the  scalp- 
iiii^-knife  was  no  more  the  emblem  of  i>re-Columbian  society 
than  the  bayonet  is  of  ours  of  the  nineteenth  century.  In  the 
I'nited  States  existence  of  a  trifle  over  a  hundred  years  have 
been  waged  several  long  and  bloody  wars,  one  the  most  gigantic 
known  to  history,  all  police  records  are  full  of  horrible  crimes 
tlie  Amerind  was  a  stranger  to  and  within  a  year  or  so  7<7^//r 
people  have  burned  alive  several  victims.  When  anyone  defends 
the  Amerind  he  is  accused  of  trying  to  make  an  angel  of  him, 

23 


% 


\\ 


.'j;s  ' 


,i! 


MU 


1  LI 

i 


!  • 


.ii: 


354 


The   North-Americans  of  Yesterday 


H 


■  f 


1 1 


but  this  only  shows  again  how  universally  unjust  toward  him 
we  are.  We  are  blind  to  our  own  shortcomings  and  exaggerate 
those  of  the  Amerind.  It  was  inevitable  tiiat  the  weaker  race 
should  be  forced  to  the  wall,  but  we  can  at  least  give  it  credit 
for  any  good  that  was  in  it  without  injuring  ourselves.  In 
estimating  their  traits  we  do  not  regard  them  enough  from 
their  own  standpoint,  and  without  so  regarding  them  we  can- 
not understand  them.  The  Amerind  was  something  of  a  farmer, 
of  an  architect,  of  an  engineer,  of  a  statesman,  of  an  artist, 
the  amount  and  quality  of  his  interest  in  these  things  de- 
])ending,  as  with  us,  on  circumstances.  In  most  localities,  he 
achieved  for  all  what  all  are  with  us  still  dreaming  to  attain,  "  lib- 
erty and  a  living,"  and  his  methods  of  government  possessed  ad- 
mirable qualities.  We  call  him  lazy  and  despise  him  for  it,  but 
many  of  our  people  would  not  work  if  they  could  avoid  it.  One 
of  Balzac's  characters  is  made  to  say  :  "  I  fear  God  ;  but  I  am  still 
more  afraid  of  the  hell  of  poverty.  To  be  without  a  penny  is  the 
last  degree  of  miser\'  in  our  present  social  state."  The  great  pliil- 
osopher  here  put  European  life  in  a  nut-shell.  The  Amerind  was 
fortunate  perhaps  in  not  knowing  what  poverty,  as  we  understand 
it,  is.  With  him  the  keen  eye,  the  woodman's  skill,  and  a  gener- 
ous and  abundant  soil  gave  him  his  dailj-  bread.  The  idea  of 
piling  up  treasure  for  the  satisfaction  of  holding  it  did  not  occur  to 
him  any  more  than  did  killing  of  game  for  pleasure.  A  tribe  may 
have  passed  through  famine,  but  the  individual  never  knew 
hunger  in  the  midst  of  riches,  as  the  civilised  man  so  often  meets 
it.  Not  long  ago  a  whole  family  wandering  about  the  streets  of 
New  York,  homeless  and  without  food,  dropped  from  exhaustion 
at  the  corner  of  Thirty-fourth  Street  and  Broadway.  In  Amerind 
society,  such  an  occurrence  would  have  been  impossible.  No 
friendl}'  .stranger  ever  left  an  Amerind  village  hungry,  if  that 
village  had  a  supply  of  food.  And  "the  hungry  Indian,"  says 
Powell,  "  had  but  to  ask  to  receive,  and  this  no  matter  how  small 
the  supply  or  how  dark  the  future  prospect.  It  was  not  only  his 
privilege  to  a.sk,  it  was  his  right  to  demand." 

The  Amerind  distribution  of  food  was  based  on  long  custom, 
on  tribal  laws  ;  food  was  regarded  like  air  and  water,  as  a  neces- 
sity that  should  in  distress  be  without  money  and  without  price. 
Hospitality  was  a  law,  and  was  everywh.ere  observed  faithfully 
till    intercourse  with   the  methods  of   our   race  demolished   it. 


'  1 1 


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ur  to 
may 
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ets  of 
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lerind 
No 
that 
says 
small 
V  his 


U.  S.  Nat.  Mu. 

TLINKIT   MAN   AND   WOMAN,    30  YKARS   A(;0,    OR   AlKUT    187O 

"The  labret,  a  small  cylinder  of  silver  with  a  broad  head,  is  the  modern  style  of  lip  nmament, 
differing  materially  from  the  large  ones  worn  until  a  few  years  ago," — Niblatk 

Many  tribes  wore  lip,  nose,  and  ear  ornaments 


l:  jl^ 


^1, 

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The    North- Americans  of  Yesterday 


Among  isolated  tribes  it  is  still  observed.     Among  the  Mokis  a 
hungry  man  of  any  colour  is  cheerfully  fed. 

We  cannot  seriously  condemn  the  Amerind  for  not  jumping  at 
the  opportunity  to  tie  himself  to  the  plough,  or  to  the  ledger,  or 
the  grindstone.  He  was,  as  a  rule,  close  to  Nature,  and  like  all 
men  who  live  thus  he  imbibed  some  of  her  grandeur.  He  lived  in 
independence  ;  and  when  he  died,  he  died  as  the  sun  sets  at  even- 
ing, expiring  in  glory,  without  a  tear,  without  lamentations.  In 
the  hands  of  the  enemy  at  the  stake,  his  passing  away  was  sub- 
lime, like  the  sunnner  cloud  that  .sails  steadily  out  into  the  infinite 
blue  and  dissolves.  The  mo.st  painful  tortures  failed  to  bring  a 
moan  to  his  lips,  or  a  tear  to  his  defiant  eye,  and  his  proud  spirit 
departed  in  .silence.  An  offer  of  liberty  was  frequently  refused. 
Charnay  tells  of  a  Tlaxcaltec  chief,  of  great  fame  as  a  warrior, 
who  was  captured  and  who,  on  being  recognised,  was  oifered  his 
freedom.  He  refused  to  accept  it  and  desired  to  be  devoted  to  the 
gods,  as  was  the  custom.  He  was  tied  to  the  gladiatorial  stone, 
where  he  killed  eight  warriors  and  wounded  twenty  others  before 
being  overpowered  and  offered  up  to  the  war-god. 

The  habit  of  mind  and  body  of  den.se  commercial  populations 
tends  toward  degeneration  because  it  is  a  concentration  in  one 
line.  The  Western  mountaineer  exhibits  the  effect  of  removal  from 
trade  considerations  in  a  repo.se  of  maimer  and  a  tranquillitj'  of 
nerves  which  .  trongly  suggest  the  Amerind.  "  There  are  incom- 
mensurable differences,"  says  Balzac,  "  between  the  man  who  min- 
gles with  others  and  him  who  dwells  with  Nature.  Once  cap- 
tured, Tous.saint  Louverture  died  without  uttering  a  word,  while 
Napoleon  on  his  rock  chattered  like  a  magpie." 

Freedom  of  limb  and  strength  of  mind  eliminated  much  di.s- 
ease  from  the  native  races.  Deformity  among.st  Amerinds  was 
rare.  There  were  seldom  cases  of  di.seased  spine,  blindness,  in- 
sanity, squinting  eyes,  deafness,  or  any  deficiency  or  excess  of  the 
organs.'  Sitting  Bull  was  a  fine  specimen  of  the  Amerind,  and  he 
was  a  man  of  great  ability.  Such  men  could  not  be  enslaved,  and 
from  the  first  the  European  efforts  to  reduce  the  red  race  t< 
slaver}'  were  failures.  They  held  their  own  in  most  localities, 
and  often  compelled  governments  to  treat  with  them  as  with  a  sov- 
Where  the  treaties  w 


pOW( 


kept  by 


'  Contact  with  civilisation  has,  however,  changed  the  average  health  iu 
many  if  not  all  tribes. 


);1 


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dis- 
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1 

1 

II 

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1 

Photographed  by  J.  K.  Hillers,  U.  S.  Geological  Survey 
A    I'AWNKK    IN    I;A  11  IK    AKKAY 


357 


Aji, 


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5<^ 


The   North-Americans  of  Yesterday 


Aiii'^rind  sehU^m  violated  them.  Penii  never  had  any  difficulty 
because  lie  treated  the  Amerinds  fairly  and  honoura])ly.  Onate, 
in  his  l(Mi_i;  journey  across  Arizona,  liad  no  conflict  with  the  natives, 
but  found  them  without  excejjtion  friendly,  and  this  was  the  ex- 
perience of  other  explorers  who  were  just.  The  native  was  a 
child.  He  expected  absolute  fidelity  and  truthfulness  from  the 
whites,  though  he  did  not  always  give  this  in  return  ;  once  let 
him  detect  prevarication  or  deceit,  and  his  confidence  vanished. 
He  never  forgave  a  white  man  for  talking  "  crooked,"  and  those 
who  have  been  invariably  truthful  and  honourable  toward  him 
have  connnanded  trust  and  respect.  I  know  two  men  who  had 
great  influence  over  the  Navajos  because  they  had  always  been 
f;.ir  and  just  to  them.  "  We  call  them  cruel."  says  George  Ban- 
croft, "yet  they  never  invented  the  thumb-screw,  ov  the  boot, 
or  the  rack,  or  broke  on  the  wheel,  or  exiled  bands  of  their  nations 
for  opinion's  sake  ;  and  never  protected  the  monopoly  of  a  medi- 
cine man  by  the  gallows,  or  the  block,  or  by  fire.  There  is  not 
a  quality  belonging  to  the  white  man  which  did  not  also  belong 
to  the  American  savage  ;  there  is  not  among  the  aborigines  a  rule 
of  language,  a  custom,  or  an  institution  which  when  considered 
in  its  principle  has  not  a  counterpart  among  their  conquerors."  ' 
Throughout  the  continent  there  was  a  general  homogeneity  of 
customs  and  ceremonies  which  separates  the  Amerindian  races  from 
the  rest  of  the  world,  and  argues  an  inunense  period  of  isolation 
from  all  other  people. 

Some  tribes  have  become  civilised,  like  the  Iroquois,  the  Chero- 
kees,  and  the  Choctaws.  Some  tribes  of  Arizona  and  the  contigu- 
ous regions  are  at  the  other  end  of  the  scale,  living  a  rude  life. 
even  for  Amerinds,  and  subsisting  on  uncultivated  products  of  the 
.soil,  like  pinon  nuts,  fruits  of  cactus  and  yucca,  ''j'auf,"  a  kind 
of  agave,  and  .seeds  of  grasses,  as  well  as  on  what  game  the  sterile 
region  affords.  The  grass  .seeds  are,  .some  of  them,  large  and  fat, 
and  make  nutritious  food.  Many  tribes  cultivated  a  grain  that 
has  no  superior  in  the  world  for  its  3'ield,  its  ea.se  of  cultivation, 
and  its  nutritious  qualities.  This  was  maize,  or  Indian  corn, 
which  grows  in  new  ground  with  little  attention,  and  can  be  dried 
and  stoied  indefir.itely.  No  machinery  was  required  to  separate 
it  from  the  husk,  and  it  was  easily  reduced  to  meal  or  flour  be- 
tween two  stones  or  in  a  mortar.  Nor  did  it  even  need  to  be 
'  Bancroft,  History  of  the  United  States,  vol.  i. 


.   ! 


■>,      ; 


•.,.:; 

!!', 


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i 

1 

36o 


The   North-Americans  of  Yesterday 


V   : 


Ii^      5 


t'  1 


!        I 


ground,  but,  roasted  in  pits,  or  j^repared  in  other  ways,  it  offered  a 
palatable  and  nutritious  food,  even  before  the  ripening.  Dried,  or 
parched,  it  was  carried  on  journeys,  and  dried  venison  added  to  it 
made  a  strengthening  diet.  Tliere  were,  besides,  other  foods,  like 
beans,  s(iuashes,  native  fruits  and  berries,  and  nuts.  Nor  was  the 
native  without  l^everages,  some  of  them  intoxicating  ;  t\wpu/</ui\  or 
0c//i  of  the  Mexicans,  extracted  from  the  maguey,  being  a  well- 
known  example.  There  are  many  varieties  of  this  drink,  though 
all  are  made  in  the  same  way.  In  the  spring  the  central  part  of  the 
plant  is  removed,  leaving  a  cup-like  cavity  which  fills  up  with 
juice,  that  is  taken  out  from  time  to  time,  and  jnit  in'.o  a  kind  of 
vat  made  of  hide  stretched  on  four  poles.  After  fermentation, 
bitter  herbs  are  added.  Mc"cal  is  another  drink  made  from  a 
smaller  kind  of  maguey.  It  is  a  colourless,  brandy-like  liquid,  pro- 
duced by  distillation  since  the  Con([uest,  but  before  that  made  by 
boiling,  just  as  the  Comanches  make  it  to-day.'  The  Kaivavits 
and  Uinkarets  made  a  kind  of  wine  out  of  the  fruit  of  the  cactus. 
The  fruit  was  put  into  a  cloth  and  the  juice  squeezed  out.  This 
was  then  allowed  to  ferment,  and  I  was  told  produced  intoxication, 
though  I  never  observed  this  result.  The  cake  resulting  from  the 
process  was  consumed  as  food,  being  sliced  down  like  bread,  and 
eaten  without  further  jireparation.  The  Pimas  and  Maricopas, 
after  drying  cactus  fruit  in  the  sun,  macerate  it  in  water,  and  after 
fermentation  get  drunk  on  the  compound. 

Tortillas  WQxe.  made  of  maize,  "  shelled  and  soaked  in  an  alkali 
to  remove  the  hull,  then  repeatedly  washed  in  cold  water."  ' 
This  product  was  then  ground  on  a  metate,  beaten  into  flat 
cakes,  and  baked  on  an  earthen  griddle  called  comalli.  Tisfe  was 
parched  corn  ground  with  chocolate  and  sugar  and  mixed  with 
water.  Atolli  was  a  drink  made  of  cornmeal  cooked  in  water. 
Chocolatl  was  prepared  "  by  grinding  equal  parts  of  cacao  beans 
and  seeds  of  pochotl  or  sequoia,  which  were  then  boiled.  This 
liquid  was  shaken  up  to  make  it  frothy,  mixed  with  dough  made 
of  maize  and  then  submitted  to  a  new  cooking  to  thicken  it." 

No  tribe  learned  to  use  the  milk  of  any  animal.  The  bison 
was  about  the  only  native  animal  that  offered  any.  In  the  whisky 
of  the  whites  they  found  their  fate,  and  this  has  done  more  than  any 

'  For  further  details  of  the  Mexican  drinks,  see  Charnay's  Ancient 
Cities. 

■  Squier,  Nicaragua,  p.  272.  *  Biart,  The  Aztecs,  p.  290. 


h'' 


Customs  ami  Ccrcinonii.'S 


;/)i 


other  single  cause  except  sinalliiox  to  deslroy  tlie  race.  For  it  tlie_\- 
exchiiuged  tobacco,  and  the  white  man  smokes  as  tlie  Amerind 
drinks. 

Beckwourth,  referring  to  the  tracUng  of  the  mixture  of  alco- 
hol and  water  called  whisky  on  the  frontier  in  his  day,  to  the 
natives,  remarks:  "This  trading  whisky  for  Indian  jiropertN-  is 
one  of  the  most  infernal  practices  ever  entered  into  by  man.      Let 


!1; 

if! 


:\'\ 


I 


:\ 


U.S.  Nat.  Mil. 


UTK    WOMAN    CAURYING    CIUI.I) 


the  reader  sit  down  and  figure  up  the  profits  on  a  forty-gallon 
cask  of  alcohol,  and  he  will  be  thunderstruck,  or,  rather,  whisky- 
struck.  When  disposed  of,  four  gallons  of  water  are  added  to  each 
gallon  of  alcohol.  In  two  hundred  gallons  there  are  sixteen 
hundred  pints,  for  each  one  of  which  the  trader  gets  a  buffalo  robe 


K'J  i    II 


- 


<S  W 


1 


'        n. 


362 


The:   Nortli-AiiK-'ricans  of  Yesterday 


worth  five  dollars  !     The  Indian  women  toil  many  long  weeks  to 
dress  these  sixteen  hundred  robes.      The  white  trader  gets  them  all 


^^j 


U.  S.  Nat.  Mil. 


George  Catlin 


KEOKUK,  A    SAIK    CIIIKK 


for  worse  than  nothing,  for  the  poor  Indian  mother  hides  herself  and 
children  in  the  forests  until  the  effect  of  the  poison  passes  away 


ii  .1 


Customs  and  Ceremonies 


36 


a 


m 


£ 


from  the  husbaiuls,  fathers,  and  brothers  wlio  lo\-e  them  when  they 
liave  no  \vhisk>-,  and  abuse  and  kill  them  when  they  have.  .  .  . 
In  short,  the  .sixt>-  gallons  of  fire-water  realised  to  the  compan>' 
o\-er  eleven  hmulred  robes  and  eighteen  horses,  worth  in  .St. 
Louis  six  thousand  dollars."  ' 

These  were  the  honourable  methods  employed  by  the  fur  com- 
p  inies.  They  secured  from  the  Amerinds  thousands  on  thousands 
of  dollars'  worth  of  valuable  property  for,  as  Heekwourth  sa\s, 
"  worse  than  nothing,"  and  no  man  knew  lietter  than  he  the  fear- 
ful effect  of  the  fire-water  on  the  nati\-e.  To-day  there  are  a  great 
many  while  men  engaged  in  the  same  traffic,  despite  the  govern- 
ment's efforts  to  crush  it  out.  And  still  we  cannot  understand 
why  the  "  Indian  has  degenerated"  ! 

A  Cheyenne  chief  said  :  "  White  man,  I  have  given  you  my 
robes,  which  my  warriors  have  spent  months  in  hunting,  and 
which  my  women  have  slaved  a  whole  year  in  dressing  ;  and  what 
do  \'ou  give  me  in  return?  I  have  nothing.  You  give  me  fire- 
water, which  makes  me  and  my  people  mad  ;  and  it  is  gone,  and 
wc  have  nothing  to  hunt  more  buffalo  with,  and  to  fight  our 
enemies."  '' 

I  never  .saw  an  Amerind  smoke  as  much  tobacco  in  a  week  as 
I  have  seen  Americans  or  Knglish  smoke  in  a  single  day.  Tobacco 
and  the  pipe  were  part  of  the  Amerindian  religious  para])hernalia. 
The  pipe  seems  not  to  have  been  much  used  for  ordinary  smoking 
among  the  Nahuatl  or  Mexican  tribes,  nor  among  the  sedentary 
tribes  of  our  South-west.  They  used  the  cigarette  chiefly,  leaving 
the  pipe  for  ceremonials,  while  the  West  Indian  tribes  rolled  the 
leaf  up  for  smoking.  Many  Eastern  tribes  cultivated  tobacco  ex- 
tensively and  were  able  to  sell  it  to  traders.  It  was  generally 
mixed  with  other  leaves  and  bark  for  smoking,  and  among  the 
Ivskimo  with  wood.  The  exact  plr  of  the  pipe  in  the  ceremonials 
of  the  Eastern  tribes  is  not  yet  thoroughly  understood,  but  its 
function  was  always  an  important  one."      Among  the  Iroquois, 


S^ 


■1 

i 


n 


;  '  si 


and 
way 


'  T//r  Life  and  Adventures  of  James  P.  BecIriOoiirth,  Mountaineer, 
Scout,  and  Pioneer,  and  Chief  of  the  Crozo  Xation  of  Indians,  \>.  444. 
Harper  Bros.,   1S56. 

-  Ibid.,  p.  445. 

■  The  council  was  opened  by  the  sachem  puffing  smoke  from  the  pipe 
over  the  heads  of  the  assembly,  and  then  each  councillor  in  turn  drawing 
at  the  pipe.     This  accomplished,  business  was  begun. 


[ffrT 


I    i! 


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r. 


t 


I'  11 


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3^4 


The   Nortli-Anu.'ricans  of  \'(jst(jrilay 


when  the  horizon  was  filled  with  "  thuiulerheads,"  or  "  sons  of 
tluinder,"  in  a  period  of  dronj^ht,  it  was  a  cnstoni  to  burn  tobacco, 
as  an  offerinj^  to  hriiiji^  rain.  ICacli  fainil\'  made  an  offerins^  on 
its  secret  altar  to  Himi",  (iod  of  Thunder,  and  then  bore  a  por- 
tion to  the  council-house,  where  a  «;eneral  offeriiii.,^  was  burned  in 
the  council  fire.  "  While  the  tobacco  was  burninj;  the  agile  and 
athletic  danced  the  rain  dance."  ' 

The  Ivskinioof  Alaska,  it  is  asserted,  will  eat  with  relish  the 
oily  refuse  from  the  bottom  of  a  pipe,  and  they  are  also  fond  of 
the  ashes  of  tobacco.  The  smoke  is  deeply  inhaled  by  them,  as  by 
all  the  tribes.  Among  the  Arikarees  a  special  pii)e  was  kept  in  a 
"bird  box."  . Xun' criminal  or  enem\  who  could  reach  this  box 
and  smoke  the  pipe  was  free  from  molestation.  This  right  of 
asylum  is  noticed  in  other  ways.  It  is  said  that  the  first  whites 
whocame  among  the  Apaches,  tired  and  hungry,  were  not  molested 
by  them.  Everywhere,  if  an  enemy  were  permitted  to  smoke  the 
])ipe  or  partake  of  food  with  the  Amerinds  he  was  absolutely  .sale 
for  the  time  being,  both  because  of  the  pipe  and  because  the  law 
of  hospitality  was  never  violated.  If  Macbeth  had  been  an 
Amerind  no  blood  would  have  been  shed  on  that  fatal  night, 
and  Duncan  would  have  pa.ssed  unharmed  beyond  the  caslle 
walls.  The  pijie  was  the  invariable  accompaniment  of  all  councils 
and  treaties  among  Eastern  tribes,  and  it  was  the  emblem  of  peace. 
I'vach  village  had  its  calumet,  a  pipe  of  peace  made  of  sacred  pipe- 
stone,  and  whoever  travelled  with  it,  passed,  eve  among  the 
enemy,  with  impunity.  ICnvoys  coming  withi.  .  .  ort  distance 
of  the  town  would  utter  a  cry  and  seat  themselves  on  the  ground. 
"  The  great  chief,"  says  George  Bancroft,"  bearing  the  peace  pipe 
of  his  tribe,  with  its  mouth  pointing  to  the  .skies,  goes  forth  to 
meet  them,  accompanied  by  a  long  procession  of  his  clansmen, 
chanting  the  hynni  of  peace.  The  strangers  rise  to  receive  them, 
singing  also  a  song,  to  put  away  all  wars  and  to  bur^'  all  revenge. 
As  they  meet,  each  party  smokes  the  pipe  of  the  other,  and  peace 
is  ratified.  The  strangers  are  then  conducted  to  the  village  ;  the 
herald  goes  out  into  the  street  that  divides  the  wigwams,  and 
makes  repeated  proclamation  that  the  guests  are  friends  ;  and  the 
glory  of  the  tribe  is  advanced  by  the  profusion  of  bear's  meat, 
and  flesh  of  dogs,  and   hominy,  which  give  magnificence  to  the 

'  Mrs.  Ertnitinie  A.  Smith,  "  Myths  of  the  Iroquois,"  Second  Ann.  Rept. 
Bii,  Eth.,  p.  72, 


•eiige. 


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II 


366 


The   North- Americans  of  Yesterday 


banquets  iti  honour  of  the  cinhassy ."  '  Thus  would  a  war  terminate. 
Ill  beginning  it  among  Kastern  tribes,  various  ceremonies  preceded 
the  departure  of  the  warric^rs,  esjK'cially  the  war  dance  or  scalp 
dance  and  accompanying  songs,  expressing  contempt  for  death 
and  certainty  of  victory.  Beckwourth  remarks:  "When  war  is 
declared  on  any  tril)e,  it  is  done  by  the  council.'  If  any  parly 
goes  out  without  authority  of  the  council,  they  are  all  severely 
whipped  ;  and  their  whipping  is  no  light  matter,  as  lean  personally 
testify.  It  makes  no  difference  how  high  the  offender  ranks,  or 
how  great  his  popularity  with  the  nation — there  is  no  favour 
shown  ;  the  man  who  disobeys  orders  is  bound  to  be  lashed,  and 
if  he  resists  or  resents  the  punishment,  he  suffers  death."  ■'  Faces 
were  variously  decorr'ed  for  the  warpath  ;  and  sometimes  when  a 
tribe  is  full  of  anger  and  resentment,  but  not  engageil  in  actual 
war,  they  will  paint  themselves  slrangel}-.  Once  I  was  among 
the  Shevwits  of  Arizona  (1875)  when  they  were  nursing  their 
wrath  against  the  Mormons,  and  the  faces  of  the  men  were  painted 
in  a  way  that  perhaps  seemed  terrible  to  them,  but  which  was 
laughable  to  me.  Some  had  the  face  divided  into  three  or  four 
sections  by  diff:;rent  colours,  for  example  :  forehead  white  ;  left 
side  of  face,  black  ;  right  side,  red  ;  with  lines  of  each  colour  over 
the  others.  Ordinarily  the  number  of  wounds  received  in  battle 
is  recorded  by  streaks  of  vermilion. 

Before  the  acquisition  of  firearms  and  the  horse,  and  the 
crowding  back  of  tril)e  against  tribe  by  the  whites,  wars  were  in 
some  parts  rather  infrequent.  Night  attacks  were  never  made. 
Captives  were  often  compelled  to  run  the  gauntlet,  and  if  they 
did  it  bravely  they  were  adopted  into  the  tribe.  Frequently  a 
captive  was  given  his  life  without  this  ordeal  if  he  would  join  the 
tribe  of  the  captors  and  fill  the  place  of  some  slain  warrior. 
Cooper  utilises  this  custom  where  Deerslayer  is  offered  his  liberty 
if  he  will  take  the  wife  and  family  of  one  he  has  killed  and  be- 
come a  member  of  the  tribe.  Such  adoption  always  rested,  how- 
ever, on  the  consent  of  the  kindred  of  the  deceased.  The  war- 
gods  were  propitiated  bj-  acts  of  cruelty,  and  by  human  sacrifices 
from  among  the  prisoners.     It  is  related  by  Bancroft  *  that  ou  one 

'  History  of  the  United  States. 

'^Important  announcements  are  made  by  appointed  crier.s, 
^  Life  and  Adventures  of  James  P.  Beckwourth^  p.  228. 
*  History  of  the  United  States, 


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U.  S.  Nat.  Mil. 

A   COSTUMK   OF   A    HANfATSA   IN   THK   KWAKTl'TL  rANNIHAI.ISTIC   CKREMONY, 
WIIKRE    SLAVES    AND    CORI'SKS    WKKF    KoRMKKI.Y    l<KVOURED 

The  head  and  neck  rings  were  from  his  mother's  tribe,  the  'I'ongass  (Tlinkit) 

367 


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The  North-Americans  of  Yesterday 


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occasion  the  Iroquois  sacrificed  an  Algonquin  woman,  exclaim- 
ing-, "  Areskoni,  to  thee  we  burn  this  victim;  feast  on  her  flesh 
and  grant  us  new  victories."  Her  flesh  was  afterwards  eaten  as 
a  religious  rite.  Cannibalism  of  this  kind  prevailed  in  many 
tribes  ;  always,  ostensibly,  a  religious  ceremony,  not  a  means  of 
satisfying  hunger.  The  victims  were  often  richly  feasted  and 
generously  treated  for  some  time  before  being  executed.  Payne 
holds  that  the  Aztec  custom  of  consuming  captives  at  religious 
feasts  was  in  realit}'  a  means  of  procuring  animal  food  resulting 
from  the  limited  meat  supply,  and  that  perpetual  war  was  waged 
mainly  to  obtain  prisoners  for  this  purpose.'  Prescott  .says  :  "  In- 
deed the  g'-eat  object  of  war,  with  the  Aztecs,  was  quite  as  much  to 
gather  victims  for  their  sacrifices  as  to  extend  their  empire."  " 

One  of  the  great  ceremonials  of  the  Aztecs  was  the  obtaining 
of  the  "new-fire,"  admirabh'  described  by  Prescott,  according  to 
his  custom.  "  On  the  evening  of  the  last  day,  a  procession  of  the 
priests,  assuming  the  dress  and  ornaments  of  their  gods,  moved 
from  t, le  capital  towards  a  lofty  mountain,  about  two  leagues  dis- 
tant. They  carried 
with  them  a  noble  vic- 
tim, the  flower  of  their 
captives,  and  an  ap- 
paratus for  kindling 
the  new-fire,  the  suc- 
cess of  which  was  an 
augury  of  the  renewal 
of  the  cycle.  On 
reaching  the  summit 
of  the  mountain,  the 
procession  paused  till 
midnight  ;  when  as 
the  constellation  of  the 
Pleiades  approaclied 
the  zenith,  the  new-fire 
was  kindled  by  the  friction  of  the  sticks  placed  on  the  wounded 
breast  of  the  victim.  The  flame  was  soon  communicated  to  a 
funeral  pile,  on  which  the  body  of  the  slaughtered  captive  was 
thrown.     As  the  light  streamed    up  towards  heaven,  shouts  of 

'  Payne's  History  of  flu-  New  World,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  495,  499,  and  501. 
"^  Conquest  of  Mexico,  vol.  i.,  p.  81. 


U.  s.  Nat.  Mu. 

MKXICAN    UPKRATINT.    TIIK    I'AI.M-DKII.I,     FOR    FIRE 

Fac-simile  outline  of  an  original  Mexiran  painting  presented 
to  the  University  of  Oxford  by  Archbishop  Sand 


in 


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U.  S.  Nat.  Mu. 


ZI'M    WOMAN    CARRYING    WATER 
Shows  also  style  of  moccasin  and  leg  wrapping  worn  by  Puebloan  and  Navajo  wnmrn 

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370  The  North- Americans  of  Yesterday 

joy  and  triumph  burst  forth  from  the  countless  multitudes  who 
covered  the  hills,  the  terraces  of  the  temples,  and  the  house-tops, 
with  eyes  bent  anxiously  on  the  mount  of  sacrifice.  Couriers,  with 
torches  lighted  at  the  blazing  beacon,  rapidly  bore  tliem  over  every 
part  of  the  country  ;  and  the  cheering  element  was  seen  brighten- 
ing on  altar  and  hearth-stone,  for  the  circuit  of  many  a  league, 
long  before  the  sun,  rising  on  his  accustomed  track,  gave  assur- 
ance that  a  new  cycle  had  commenced  its  march  and  that  the  laws 
of  nature  were  not  to  be  reversed  for  the  Aztecs."  ' 

New-fire  was  also  obtained  by  friction,  with  the  Aztecs,  once 
each  year,  and  once  each  four  years,  as  well  as  at  the  fifty-two 
year  cycle.  In  Arkansas  it  was  produced  every  year.  On  a  cer- 
tain day,  "  as  the  sun  began  to  decline  the  fires  were  extinguislied 
in  every  hut,  and  universal  .silence  reigned."  "  A  priest  next 
produced  fire  by  friction.  "  It  was  then  brought  out  of  the 
temple  in  an  earthen  dish  and  placed  upon  an  altar  that  had  been 
previously  prepared  in  the  square.  Its  appearance  brought  joy  to 
the  hearts  of  the  people  as  it  was  supposed  to  atone  for  all  past 
crimes  except  murder.  A  general  amnesty  was  proclaimed  except 
for  tliis  one  crime,  and  all  malefactors  might  iiow  return  to  tlieir 
villages  in  safety."  ^  The  Mokis  still  produce  the  new-fire  each 
November.* 

Sacrifices  to  the  gods  were  nvacie  by  the  Mayas  at  the  sacred 
ccnotc  of  Cliichen  Itza,  and  similar  places."  This  sacred  well  was 
one  of  the  openings  to  the  subterranean  waters  of  Yucatan,  and 
was  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  in  diameter  and  sixty-five 
feet  deep  from  the  brink  to  tlie  surface  of  the  water,  with  jierpen- 
dicular  sides.  Pilgrims  came  here  to  make  offerings  and  Landa 
states  that  in  time  of  drought  they  would  cast  live  men  into  it  as  a 
tribute  to  the  gods,  believing  that  though  they  disappeared  they 
would  not  die.  Valuable  property  was  also  thrown  in  and  still 
lies  with  the  bones  at  the  bottom.  Charnay  tried  to  work  some 
automatic  sounding  machines  there,  but  he  failed  to  obtain  satis- 
factory results.     Among  the  Aztecs  a  person  to  be  sacrificed  was 

'  Conquest  0/ Mexico,  vol.  i.,  p.  126  ;  see  also  pp.  251,  252  of  this  hook. 

•'  Lucieii  Carr,  Sinithsonian  Report,  1891,  p.  543  ;  see  also  Payne's  His- 
tory of  tlic  New  World,  page  330. 

■'ibid. 

'  See  Fewkes,  "The  New-Fire  Ceremcay  at  Walpi,"  American  An- 
tliropolo,s^ist,  N.  S.,  vol.  ii.,  N<>.  i. 

•'  For  details  of  cenote,  etc.,  see  Desire  Charnay 's  Ancient  Cities. 


IF' 


Customs  and  Ceremonies 


371 


if 


acred 
was 

and 

-five 

pen- 

,anda 

,t  as  a 

they 

stiil 

some 

satis- 

was 

)ook. 
His- 


extended  full  length  over  a  convex  stone,  and  the  priest  with  a 
long  obsidian  knife  made  a  gash  in  the  breast  through  which  he 
extracted  the  living  heart  and  laid  it  at  the  feet  of  the  idol.  Parts 
of  the  victim  were  afterward  served  at  a  grand  ceremonial  banquet. 
"Forty  days  previous  to  the  festival  of  Quetzalcohuatl,"  says 
Bandelier,  "  a  slave  was  selected,  who  must  be  in  perfect  health 
and  of  faultless  body.  He  was  dressed  in  the  same  manner  as  the 
idol,  and,  after  having  been  carefully  batlied,  and  kept  in  '  honour- 
able confinement,'  as  an  object  of  worship  for  that  length  of  time, 
he  was  sacrificed  at  midnigiit.  The  heart  was  tendered  to  the 
moon,  and  afterwards  thrown  at  the  idol,  and  the  body  cut  up, 
cooked  and  publicly  devoured."  *  In  times  of  drought  children 
from  six  to  ten  years  old  were  offered  up ;  they  were  not 
eaten,  but  buried  before  the  idol.  The  priests  who  officiated  were 
medicine-men,  or  shamans.  Every  tribe  on  tiie  continent  had 
shamans.  These  individuals  held  a  peculiar  power,  and  among 
tribes  known  to  us  now  they  still  exercise  it.  Even  among  the 
Christian  Pueblos  of  New  Mexico,  tlie  authority  of  the  shanan 
has  not  altogether  waned  and  ancient  rites  are  said  to  be  still 
enacted  in  secret.  For  some  of  these  it  is  believed  rattlesnakes 
have  been  carefully  guarded  for  years.  "Among  Indians," 
Mooney  states,"  "the  professions  of  medicine  and  religion  are  in- 
separable. Tlie  doctor  is  always  a  priest  and  the  priest  is  always 
a  doctor.  Hence  to  the  whites  in  the  Indian  country  the  Indian 
priest-doctor  has  come  to  be  kno..n  as  the  'medicine-man'  and 
anything  sacred,  mysterious,  or  of  wonderful  power  or  efficacy  in 
Indian  life  or  belief  is  designated  as  'medicine,'  this  term  being 
the  nearest  equivalent  of  the  al)original  expression  in  various 
languages.  To  make  '  medi  nne  '  is  to  perforin  some  sacred  cere- 
mony, from  the  curing  of  a  sick  child  to  the  consecration  of  the 
Sun-dance  lodge."  An  Iroquois  student  states,'  that,  "among 
the  Indians,  the  knowledge  of  the  medicine-man  and  tlie  more  ex- 
pert sorceress  is  little  above  that  of  the  body  of  the  tril)e.  Tlu'ir 
success  depends  entirel\'  on  their  own  belief  in  being  supernatur- 
ally  gifted  and  on  the  faith  and  fear  of  their  followers.     I  do  not 

'  Archceolop;ical  Tour,  p.  204. 

•James  Mooney,  "The Ghost-Dance  Relision,"  Fourlcciitli  Ann.  Rept. 
Bu.  Eth.,  p.  9S0. 

'Mrs.  Ivrminuie  Smith,  "Myths  of  the  Iroquois,"  .S'<r:>//</ .7;/;/.  Rcpt, 
Bu.  Eth.,  p.  6S. 


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The   North-Americans  of  Yesterday 


believe  that  the  Iroquois  lives  to-day  who  is  not  a  believer  in  sor- 
cery, or  who  would  not  in  the  night  time  quail  at  seeing  a  bright 
light  the  nature  of  which  he  did  not  understand," 

The  functions  and  powers  of  the   shamans  or  medicine-men 
have  never  been  completely  understood,  but  over  the  sick  they 


U.  S.  Nat.  Mil. 


Hack 


Frame 

VllL  CRADl.K,  FKAMK    OT    RODS   COVKUr.I)   WITH    BUCKSKIN 
Carried  on  the  back.     In  principle  the  majnritj-  of  Amerind  cradles  are  similar 

carried  on  various  incantations  and  administered  decoctions  of 
native  vegetable  and  animal  substances.  Powell  definer.  a  shaman 
as  "  a  person  who  has  the  j^ower  to  control  ghosts  through  magic." 
They  mortified  their  own  flesh  and  the  priests  of  Mexico  would 
pierce  their  tongues  and  draw  through  the  wound  thus  formed  a 
long  knotted  cord,  or  twigs  fastened  together,  or  a  cord  set  with 
some  animal's  claws  or  teeth.    .Sjjeaking  of  Mexico,  Prcscott  .says :  * 

'  Conquest  of  Mexico,  vol.  i.,  p.  121. 


K^ 


Customs  and  Ceremonies 


Z72, 


"In  no  country,  not  even  in  ancient  Kg3pt,  were  the  dreams  of 
tlie  astrologer  more  implicitly  deferred  to.     On  the  birth  of  a  child 
he  was  instantly  summoned.     The  time  of  the  event  was  accur- 
ately ascertained,  and  the  family  hung  in  trembling  suspense  as 
the  minister  of  Heaven  cast   the   horoscope  of  the   infant   and 
unrolled  the  dark  volume  of  destiny.     The  influence  of  the  priest 
was  confessed  by  the  Mexican  in  the  first  breath  which  he  inhaled." 
Other  tribes  were  not  behind.     In  some  the  shamans  were  her- 
editary, but  it  would  seem  that  their  selection  and  appointment 
were  due  to  various  regulations  existing  in  the  secret  orders  and 
also  to  a  reputation  for  the  possession  of  occult  power.     Some 
writers  hold  that  the  shamans  are  self  appointed,  but  this  does  not 
seem  to  correspond  with  the  intricacies  of  the  Amerindian  social 
organisation.     Powell  adopts  the  Algonquin  name  for  them,  Jossa- 
keeds,  and  describes  them   as  the  head   men  of  the  fraternities. 
Whatever  he   may  do  to  obtain  his  supposed  magical  powers,  it 
would  appear  reasonable  to  believe  that  so  prominent  a  functionary 
as  this  shaman,  or  jossakeed,  would  require  in  the  beginning  to  be 
a  man  of  some  distinction,  or  special  initiation.     In  making  such 
decoctions  as  he  used  the  shaman  boiled  various  plants  together 
with  a  stone  arrow-head,  or  similar  article.     Out  of  twenty  plants 
used  by  the  Cherokees,  only  seven  are  noted  in  the  United  States 
Dispensatory.     "Five   plants   or   25   per   cent.,"   .says    Mooney, 
"  are  correctly  used;    12  or   60  per  cent,  are  presumably  either 
worthless   or  incorrectly  used,  and  three  plants  or  15  per  cent, 
are   so   used    that   it   is    difficult   to   say   whether    the}-    are   of 
any  benefit   or  not.     Granting   that  two  of  these  three  produce 
good    results   as   used   by  the  Indians,   we  .should   have  35  per 
cent.,  or  about  one  third  of  the  whole,  as  the  proportion  actually 
possessing  medical   virtues,   while  the  remaining  two  thirds  are 
inert,  if  not  positively  injurious."      "  For  a  disease  caused  by  the 
rabbit  the  antidote  must  be  a  plant  called  'rabbit's  food,'  'rab- 
bit's ear,'   or  'rabbit's  tail'  ;  for  snake  dreams,  the  plant  used 
is  '  snake's  tooth,'  "  and  so  on,  "an  empiric  development  of  the 
fetich  idea."'     No  sanitary  precautions  were  taken  during  the 
treatment  except  fasting.     When  the  patient  eats,  certain  kinds 
of  food  are  forbidden,  but  on  the  ground  of  .some  fancied  connec- 
tion between  the  disea.se  and  the  food.     If  squirrels  are  supposed 

'  James  Mooney,  "Sacred  Formulas  of  the  Cherokees,"  Seventh  Ann. 
Rept.  Bu.  Eth. ,  p.  328. 


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374  The  North- Americans  of  Yesterday 


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to  be  at  the  root  of  the  trouble,  tlie  patient  is  prohibited  from 
eating  squirrel  meat.' 

The  sweat  bat)i  was,  and  is,  the  great  cure-all  among  the 
Amerinds,  except  the  Central  and  Eastern  Eskimo.  It  was  also  a 
means  of  religious  purification.  Sometimes  the  sweat  house  was 
a  large  structure,  but  usually  it  was  only  large  enough  to  hold  one 
or  two  persons  in  a  squatting  posture,  and  was  constructed  of  poles 


U.  S.  Nat.  Mil. 
ESKIMO   WOMAN    OK    I'OIM    HARROW 
CARRYING  CHILD 
Photograph  by  Capt.  Healy,  U.  S.  R.  M. 


U.  S.  Nat.  Mil. 

Al'ACHE    WOMAN    CARRYING 

CHILD 

Shows  also  moccasins  and  leg  wrappings 
similar  to  the  Puebloan  and  Navajo 


covered  with  skins,  blankets,  or  earth.  The  patient  entered  and 
those  outside  heated  stones  and  passed  them  in  to  him  by  means 
of  sticks.     Water   or  .some  decoction  was  then  poured  over  the 

'  "Our  materia  medica  owes  tobacco,  <jutn  copal,  liquid  amber,  sarsapa- 
rilla,  resin  of  tecamaca,  jalap,  and  buaca  to  tbe  Aztecs." — L.  Biart.  T/ie 
Azkxs,  p.  285. 


Customs  and  Ceremonies 


^  "•  r 

0/5 


stones  and  the  opening  closed.  Profnse  perspiration  was  tlie  re- 
sult. At  the  proper  time,  if  a  stream  were  near,  the  patient  would 
run  out  and  plunge  in  ;  otherwise  cold  water  was  poured  over  him. 
This  was  the  chief  remedy  for  smallpox,  which  has  made  such 
ravages  in  all  tribes,  but  of  course  it  was  ineffective.  The  sweat 
lodge  and  the  sweat  bath  comiected  with  it  must  not  be  con- 
founded, as  is  often  the  case,  with  the  cstufa,  (or  kiva).  The  latter 
has  no  connection  with  the  sweat  bath,  but  is  an  entirely  different 
thing,  the  confusion  arising  from  the  Spanish  term,  which  means 
a  hothouse,  derived  from  the  fact  that  the  kivas  are  kept  stiflingly 
close  and  hot  in  winter. 

Most  Amerinds  believe  that  all  living  things,  even  trees,  once 
had  human  shape,  and  "  have  been  transformed,  for  punishment  or 
otherwise,  into  their  present  condition."  They  had  no  understand- 
ing of  a  single  "Great  vSpirit "  till  the  Kuropeans,  often  uncon- 
.sciously,  informed  them  of  their  own  belief. 

The  Iroquois  in  many  ways  were  the  finest  Amerinds  of  all. 
Brinton  says,  "  unsurpassed  by  any  other  on  the  continent  [phvs- 
ically],  and  I  may  e\'en  say  by  any  other  people  in  the  world."  ' 
"  In  legislation,  in  eloquence,  in  fortitude  and  in  military  sagac- 
ity they  had  no  equals,"  says  Morgan."  He  also  maintains  tliat 
they  represented  ' '  the  highest  development  the  Indian  ever  readied 
in  the  liunter  state."  "Crimes  and  offences  were  .so  unfrequent 
under  their  social  system  that  the  Iroquois  can  scarcely  be  said  to 
have  had  a  criminal  code."  Theft  was  barely  known,  and  "on 
all  occasions,  and  at  whatever  price,  the  Iroquois  s]X)ke  the  truth 
without  fear  and  without  hesitation."  ^  The  Iroquois,  Algoncpiins, 
and  other  stocks  carried  on  a  consi(leral:)le  commerce  with  far- 
distant  points.  "  The  red  pipe-stone  was  brought  to  the  Atlantic 
coast  from  the  Coteau  des  Prairies,  and  even  the  black  slate  highl\- 
ornamented  pipes  of  the  Haidah  on  Vancouver  Island  have  been 
exhumed  from  graves  of  Lenajie  Indians."  '  The  wide  e.xtent  of 
Amerindian  commercial  traffic  has  hardly  been  ap])reciated. 

The  religion  of  most  of  tlie  Amerinds  was  zootlieism  —  that  is, 
their  gods  were  deified  men  and  animals.  The  heavenly  bodies. 
l)ersonified  as  men  and  animals,  al.so  formed  a  part  of  their  galaxy. 

'  D.  G.  Brinton,  The  American  Race,  p.  82. 

•  League  of  the  Iroquois,  p.  55. 

Ubid.,  pp.  330-333. 

••  Brinton,  The  American  Race,  p.  77. 


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376  The  North-AiiKiricans  of  Yesterday 

Their  worship  of  these  various  <leities,  wlio  were  l)elieve(l  to  con- 
trol each  his  division  of  human  affairs  atul  eartlily  pheiioiiiciia, 
was  througli  numerous  ceremonials,  many  of  them  einl)o(l>in^ 
their  form  of  dancing,  and  called  by  the  whites  "  dances,"  t'longli 
this  term   fails  properly  to  describe  them.     Often  there  is  very 

little  dancing,  and  even 
that  has  a  minor  part. 
The  ceremonials  lake 
place  at  all  times  and 
seasons,  many  being  as 
absolutely  fixed  to  a  cer- 
tain date  as  our  own 
holidays  or  church  cele- 
brations. The  Kastern 
tribes  had  ceremonials 
on  tapping  the  maple 
trees,  and  others  for  the 
close  of  the  maple-sugar 
.season.  There  were  also 
the  Corn-Planting  Festi- 
val, the  Strawberr>-  Fes- 
tival, the  Bean  Festival, 
and  the  fanums  Green 
Corn  Dance  of  the  Iro- 
quois, followed  by  the  Harvest  Dance.  Some  ceremonials  occur  in 
their  perfection  only  at  .specified  intervals,  as  the  Snake  Dance  of 
the  Mokis,  which,  while  performed  annually  at  some  one  of  the 
towns,  is  .seen  in  its  full  glory  otdy  once  every  two  years  at 
the  village  of  Walpi.  This  now  famous  ceremonial,  in  which  a 
hundred  or  more  rattlesnakes  are  used  alive,  covers  altogether  a 
period  of  nine  days,  including  the  search  for  the  snakes,  as  well  as 
rites  performed  in  the  kiva.  It  is  only  on  the  last  two  days  that 
there  are  public  ceremonies.  Spectators  who  are  known  or  have 
a  proper  introduction  are  sometimes  allowed  to  visit  a  kiva  when 
it  is  reserved  by  the  order  owning  or  controlling  it  ;  at  other  times 
a  vi.sitor  is  generally  freelj'^  admitted.  During  my  stay  in  the 
Moki  country  I  never  was  barred  from  any  place  that  I  desired  to 
enter  ;  though  it  may  have  happened  that  I  never  tried  to  enter  at 
a  time  when  outsiders  were  forbidden.  The  snakes  are  brou.qlit 
out  of  the  kiva  by  one  set  of  priests,  or  shamans,  and  dropped  on 


U.  S.  Hii.  Flth.  Photograph  (reversed) 

MOKI    "  SNAKK   DANCK  "    AT   WALl'I 
Snake  priests  in  action 


Sixth  Ann.  Kept.,  I'l.  V. 
Drawings  by  the  Central  Eskimo.     Scu  p.iye  59. 


% 


'\ 


0*>.       ! 


M 


-r=^- 


.'■    \ 


Fourth  Ann.  Kept.,  PI.  XXXVIII. 

PaRC  of  the  Dakota  Wiiitfr-Coiints,  ;ilsi> 
calkd  by  them  "Counts  H;ick."  See 
p;ige  60. 


1 


1 


• 


'  i' '; 


Fourth  Ann.  Kept.,  PI.  I. XIII. 

Page  from  Red  Cloud's  Census,  Dakota. 
.See  page  60. 


!ti^*»# 


'I^kV^ 


Fourth  Ann.  Kept.,  PI.  IV. 

Ojibwa  Mnemonic  Record  of  a  Mide  Song. 
See  page  58. 


U.  S.  Bu.  Eth. 


AMERINDIAN    I'lCTrKK-WKIl  ING 


■f    I 
I 


i     i 


37^ 


The   Nortli-Anu-'ricans  of  Yesterday 


■    hi? 


1 


::' 


{•: 


1  ■"• 


the  groutul  to  lie  picked  up  by  another  set  witli  imicli  ceremony. 
At  the  end  all  the  snakes  are  carried  to  the  valley  and  liberated  to 
return  through  their  holes  to  the  underworld,  there  to  conununi- 
cale  the  desires  of  the  people  to  the  gods.  The  towns  of  the  Mokis 
on  the  iCast  Mesa  are  now  fre(iuentl\'  visited  by  whites,  but 
(Jraibi  and  the  others  are  not  so  often  approached.  When  I  went 
to  Oraibi,  in  1SS5,  we  were  followed  about  by  a  band  of  curious 
small  boys,  and  the  women  peered  at  us  from  the  roof  hatchways, 
(juickly  ducking  out  of  sight  if  one  of  us  happened  to  look  their 
way.  The  men  declined  to  talk  except  in  monosyllables,  and  I 
am  free  to  confess  that  it  was  a  relief  to  finalh-  mount  and  ride 
away.     Oraibi  has  never  had  a  reputation  for  hospitality.     From 

there  we  went 
to  Shimopavi, 
where  our  re- 
ception was 
exactly  the  re- 
verse of  what 
it  had  been  at 
Oraibi,  and  I 
shall  always  re- 
member with 
pleasure  the 
frank,  genial, 
smiling  men 
^a^^^^^l^HW^^^^nj^  11    'i^K    ^vho  received  us 

M^         ^^'*^  ^^  rkiAUBBlj   in    one   of   the 

*  -      chief  kivas,  and 

^  the  alacrity 
wi  t  h  which  a 
clean  repast  of 
w  a  t  e  r  m  e  1  o  n 
and     piki    was 

brought  and  placed  before  us.  This  only  shows  what  a  difference 
in  manners  may  e:<i>l  in  the  divisions  of  one  tribe,  and  how  easy 
it  would  be  to  denounce  all  the  Mokis  as  being  surly  and  ugl.v,  if 
one  saw  only  the  Oraibi  branch. 

A  simple  occurrence  means  to  the  superstitious  mind  of  the 
Amerind  a  great  deal.  In  illustration  of  this  I  may  mention  that 
two  meu  I  knew  were  one  day  at  one  of  the  Moki  towns  and 


u.  ^.  i;ii.  Kth. 


DKCW.NNINC    nV   TUK    MOKI    "  SNAKK    DANCK 
A.i'eldi  <-  priests  lined  up 
Tliis  scene  piec  ed' s  the  one  on  page  376 


Photograph  (reversed) 
AT   WALl'I 


I        ! 


'i' 


Customs  and  Ccrciiionit'S 


37^) 


ciirclessly  entered  a  kiva  where  the  preparing  and  blessinjj;  of  certain 
sacred  water  were  in  progress.  W'licn  the\'  had  departed,  a  fright- 
ened rock-wren  flnttered  in.  This  was  accepted  as  an  evil  omen. 
The  bird  was  inunediately  killed  and  some  of  its  blood  sprinkled 
over  the  floor  of  the  kiva.  Then  it  was  taken  to  the  first  honse 
the  whites  had  entered  when  they  arrived  at  the  town,  and  more 
blood  sprinkled  wherever  they  had  stood.  Alter  this  the  bird's 
l)inl\-  was  carefully  laid  outside,  near  the  dcjor. 

Thus  the  .struggles  of  a  dazed  bird  are  considered  by  these 
people  a  portentous  circumstance. 

The  dancing  of  the  Amerinds  is  everywhere  much  alike,  and 
it  is  generally  performed  in  a  circle.  It  has  been  described  as  a 
heel  (lance,  and  with  some  tribes  ih  apparentl\'  that  because  lhe\- 
.seem  to  strike  the  ground  only  with  the  heel,  but  it  is  usuall\-  a  toe- 
and-heel  step,  the  toe  first  touching  and  then  the  heel  being  l)rought 
down  with  more  or  less  force.  When  rapidly  done  the  separate 
touching  of  the  toe  is  hardly  noticeable.  The  movement  of  the 
circle  is  commonly  from  left  to  right,  and  during  this  progress  va- 
rious contortions  are  gone  through  with,  more  or  less  violently  ac- 
cording to  the  intensity  of  the  occasion.  In  the  remarkable  Okeepa 
ceremony  of  the  vSioux  fearful  tortures  were  sul^mitted  to,  and 
sometimes  a  bison  skull  was  dragged  around  by  means  of  ropes 
attached  to  .skewers  thrust  through  the  bodies  and  limixs  of  the 
performers.  The>-  were  also  pulled  aloft  in  the  dancing-lodge 
by  these  .skewers,  and  the  pain  was  often  so  intense  that  the 
devotee  would  faint.  (vSee  page  382.)  When  Catlin  first  described 
this  ceremonial  and  its  ordeals  it  was  received  with  doubt,  but  it 
has  since  been  .seen  l)y  others  and  fully  authenticated.  It  is,  of 
course,  not  possible  to  more  than  touch  on  the  cusIcmus  and  cere- 
monies of  the  Amerinds  in  this  short  chapter.  A  large  volume 
would  be  required  to  exhil)it  even  a  quarter  part  of  the  details. 

The  ceremonials  '  of  the  Pueblos  are  marked  by  elaborately 
costumed  katcinas,'"  but  perhaps  not  more  so  than  those  of  other 
tribes.     Those  of  the  North-west  coast  are  full  of  strange  costumes 


r 

, 

k 

1 

m 

1 

"y 

■ill 


1/  ( 


'  These  ceremonials  often  introduce  historical  matters.  I  was  surprised 
ouce  to  hear  the  song  chanj^e  to  one  of  our  Sun<lay-school  hymns.  Tliis 
portion  of  the  ceremony  was  descrihing  the  estahlishmeut  of  a  Presbyterian 
mission  at  Ream's  Canyon  years  before. 

'^See  J.  Walter  Fewkes,  yoiinial  0/ Anterican  Et/ifwloi^y,  for  a  descrip- 
tion of  some  of  the  Moki  ceremonials  and  other  papers  by  the  same  author. 


1 


I 


li 


\ 


i.'   •« 


t         ! 


■f         1 


U.  S.  Nat.  Mu. 


HDRNKD    RATTI.KSNAKF,  CROTAM'S   CK.RASTF.S 


!  ' 


Commonly  called   "Sidpwinder"    because  of    its  sidling   motion.      Inhabits  desert  plains  and 
valleys  of  Southern  Arizona,  California,  and  Nevada,  and  south-«'estern  Utah.     One  killed 
by  the  author  in    1875  was    about   three   ft.   long.      The    rattlesnake  was  identified  with 
reli>;ious  ceremonials  of  most  of  the  tribes  from  Ohi )  to  Central  Americ.» 

380 


Customs  and  Ceremonies 


>si 


also,  and  the  plains  tribes  executed  their  wild  scalp  dance,  hear 
dance,  bnfiflilo  dance,  etc.,  in  costumes  that  were  as  singular  as 
the  dance  itself.  In  the  ceremony  of  the  Mokis  called  vSoyaita 
or  vSomaikoli,  I  counted  sixteen  different  katcinas  with  extraordi- 
nary costumes  weighing  them  down,  except  one  who  wore  nothing 
but  a  round  l)ullet-like  mask  and  a  breecli-cloth.  The  others  were 
so  loaded  that  it  was  nearly  impo.ssible  to  recogni.se  in  them  human 
beings.  The  preparations  for  a  ceremonial  occupy  a  week  or  two 
beforehand.  One  evening,  .some  time  before  the  public  j^erform- 
ance  of  the  vSomaikoli,  as  I  was  walking  from  one  village  to  the 
other  on  the  East  Mesa,  I  was  about  half  way  when  I  suddenly 
became  aware  of  a  hideous  yelling  ahead  of  me,  and  di.scovered 
the  flaring  of  torches  in  the  darkness.  There  being  no  rock,  tree, 
or  shrub  near,  I  was  fully  illumined  by  the  glare  as  the  torches 
approached.  Then  I  .saw  six  stalwart  fellows,  entirely  nude,  ex- 
cept for  the  breech-cloth,  though  it  was  a  chill\  night  in  Novem- 
ber. I  pau.sed  to  awaii  results,  as  I  perceived  they  meant  to  come 
up  with  me.  I  could  not  understand  their  object.  They  were 
marching  in  snigle  file.  When  they  .saw  that  I  was  not  a 
native,  but  the  solitary  white  visitor  to  the  mesa  who  lived  at 
Hano.  they  grinned  and  passed  on  without  a  word.  What  they 
would  have  done  with  one  of  their  people  I  do  not  know,  but  I 
heard  afterwards  that  they  captured  anyone  they  found  out  and 
kept  them  in  one  of  the  kivas  till  the  day  of  the  public  ceremony. 
At  any  rate.  I  found  that  everybody  took  care  to  be  indoors  on  this 
night  between  certain  hours.  The  mysteries  of  the  different  .secret 
orders  are  not  known  to  out.siders,  not  even  if  niem.bers  of  the 
tribe." 

Photographs  and  paintings  were  considered  "bad-medicine" 
by  most  tribes,  and  I  had  no  success  whatever  in  persuading  the 
Mokis  to  po.se  for  me  when  I  was  there.  One  who  finally  con- 
sented ran  away  when  it  came  to  the  test.  I  was  permitted  to  use 
my  .snap-camera  and  to  .sketch  buildings  freely,  but  when  it  came  to 
painting  persons  they  rebelled.  They  believed  that  the  possessor 
of  a  likeness  he  d  power  over  the  person  represented. 

Murde  in  most  tribes  was  .settled  by  property  atonement,  or  by 
the  assumption  by  the  guilty  one  of  the  victim's  duties,  and  when 

'  lu  some  of  the  pueblos  there  is  a  constant  inter-killing  going  ou  for  sup- 
posed evil  practices  of  witchcraft  (Bandelier  Report,  part  i.,  p.  35),  but 
^\•hether  this  has  any  connection  with  the  secret  orders,  I  do  not  know. 


f  r 


\  \ 


:n 


ib. 


n 


\\i\  I 


■ii  u' 


i; 


'■  ji 


4 


I'. 


I 


'I 


1 


tilt: 


Mi 


m 
'II 


Hi' 


lii 


Ml! 


•!l 


3S: 


'E  -'^■' 


i  >  ^fK 


•y. 


-9  -  = 

•  /■■  =  t< 

.<=  5J-3 

•/■.  '■  i 


-■     —  i:  =x 

^      =''7  -j'l 

?    i  j;  -J  ?'  ^ 


^    S  ~  =  -  -. 
5    'i-f  =1- 


~      c^;  =f-r  i 


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I)  =  - 


-  u 
2  ux 


Customs  and  Ceremonies 


■•X-' 


once  settled  the  matter  could  never  again  be  reopened.  No  con- 
troversy was  ever  permitted,  and  to  terminate  it  there  were  three 
methods:  i.  When  controversy  arises  in  relation 
to  ownership,  the  property  is  usually  destroyed  by 
the  clan  or  by  the  tribal  authorities.  This  is  one 
reason  why  property  is  found  buried  with  Amer- 
inds. By  thus  disposing  of  it  all  controversy  is 
avoided.  Or  the  property  may  be  completely  aban- 
doned by  all  concerned,  as  in  the  case  mentioned 
by  Powell,  where  a  war  party  of  vSioux  surprised 
and  killed  r.  squad  of  sleeping  soldiers  at  the  nrst 
volley.  "  Their  arms,  blankets,  and  other  property 
were  untouched  because  the  attacking  party  being 
large,  it  could  not  be  decided  b}-  whose  bullets  the 
soldiers  were  slain."  2.  If  two  persons  come  to 
blows,  it  is,  unless  serious  injury  be  done,  con- 
sidered a  final  settlement.  Appeal  to  authority  is 
thereby  forever  barred  in  that  matter.  3.  Estab- 
lishment of  a  day  or  festival  once  a  month,  usually 
once  a  year,  beyond  which  crimes  do  not  pass. 
Marriage  is  by  what  is  called  legal  appoir.tment. 
In  this  way  controversy  over  the  women  of  a  Uibe 
is  largely  avoided,  for  little  is  left  to  personal  choice. 
But  kinship  groups  allowed  to  intermarr>  do  not 
remain  station-^ry  in  iiumbe'S,  hence,  one  set  of 
men  may  have  many  wives  to  choose  from,  another 
few,  which,  says  Powell,  leads  to  modification  of 
the  principle  and  three  additional  forms  of  marriage 
are  the  result,  by  elopement,  by  capture,  and  by 
duel.  That  is,  if  a  pair  elope  and  can  evade  their 
pursuers  till  the  day  limiting  controversy  has  passed, 
they  are  safe  from  molestation.  We  once  met  an 
interesting  example  of  this  class  in  the  Uinta  Valley, 
U.  s.  Bu.  Eth.  Utah,  and  with  our  boats  put  the  runaways  across 

THK  SACRED  P)LR  GreeuRiv'-r,  thus  obliterating  their  trail,  though  at 
OF  TUE  OMAHA    ^|jg  \\\\\f?  wc  did  uot  SO  Well  understand  the  situ- 
NowinthePeabody  .^^j^.,      ^  group  of  meii  who  luive  but  a  limitci  class 

.Museum  ^  *■ 

to  choo.se  wives  from  .sometimes  combine  to  capture 
for  one  of  their  number  a  wife  from  some  other  group  within  their 
own  tribe.     A  fight  is  often  the  result,  but  without  weapons.     A 


K  i! 


i  11.' 


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rt.5  c-^ 

Ego-,., 


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</j-n  i)  r  u 


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f  =■£  z~ 

S="  - . 

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384 


iilM' 


Customs  and  Ceremonies 


38; 


> 

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J3      X. 
H      <: 


second  battle  for  the  same  woman  at  that  time  is  not  permitted. '  Or 
one  man,  if  lie  feel  strong  enough,  may  deprive  some  other  fellow 
in  his  own  tribe  of  his  wife.  In  southern  Utah,  Tom  came  to  our 
camp  one  night  weeping  bitterly,  and  when  I  could  get  at  his 
statement  it  was  to  the 
effect  that  someone 
had  deprived  him  of 
his  wife.  Our  men 
were  indignant  and 
wished  t  o  proceed 
forthwith  to  the  Amer- 
ind camp  and  compel 
the  thief  to  restore  the 
wife  to  Tom,  but  they 
finally  decided  to 
abandon  him  to  the 
established  customs 
of  his  people. 

Sometinu  ?.  woman 
is  assigned  to  a  man 
who  already  has  a 
wife,  while  some  other 
man  has  none,  because 
the  group  into  which 

he  is  permitted  to  marry  is  exhausted.  He  then  challenges  the 
man  who  is  entitled  to  more  than  one  and  endeavours  to  win 
the  woman  by  success  in  battle.  On  one  occasion  in  southern 
Nevada  a  white  man's  sympathies  were  so  aroused  by  one  of 
these  affairs,  in  which  the  girl  was  being  roughly  pulled  about, 
tliat  he  tlirew  off  his  coat  and,  taking  an  active  part  in  the 
struggles,  rescued  her.  Then  he  was  amazed  at  the  information 
that  the  girl  belonged  to  him  and  he  must  keep  her.  This 
he  declined  to  do  and  turned  her  over  again  to  their  tender 
mercies.  These  three  forms  of  marriage  become  roundabout 
methods  of  personal  choice.  When  the  supply  of  wives  is  nor- 
mal the  young  man  in  some  tribes  goes  out  into  the  woods  by 
a  certain  trail,  and  if  the  girl  of  his  choice  follows  him,  it 
is    considered    a    marriage,    and    is  celebrated    with    prescribed 

'  For  iufortuatiou  ou  these  and  other  social  poiutssee  the  various  writings 
of  J.  W.  Powell, 
as 


GROUND   PLAN  OF  CRUCIFORM  TOMB,   OAXACA 


•I 


i! 


i;l: 


if,: 


w 


"J 


1! 


nf 


iTT^ 


386 


The   North-Americans  of  Yesterday 


i  \ . 


cerenionif.'s.  Polygamy  was  practised  by  most  tribes.  Among 
the  Navajos,  wlio  buy  their  wives,  it  is  very  common,  but  there  a 
wife  can  depart  at  pleasure,  and  as  the  husband  acquires  no  right 
to  her  property,  slie  takes  it  with  her. 

Totemism  is  an  important  custom  in  vogue  among  all  the  stocks 
of  the  continent,  and  it  was  pro])ably  a  custom  tlie  world  over 
when  tril)es  were  in  a  certain  stage.  The  word  totem  is  derived 
from  the  Ojibwa,  and  is  said  to  have  first  been  introduced  into 
literature  by  one  Long,  an  interpreter.  Totems  are  of  three  kind>  : 
clan  totems,  sex  totems,  and  individual  totems.  The  first  are  the 
most  important.'  Totemism  is  at  the  same  time  a  religious  and  a 
social  sj-stem.  The  totem  is  usually  an  animal,  as  a  frog,  bear, 
bat,  etc.  The  Amerind  believes  that  between  these  oljjects  and 
himself  there  is  a  particular  bond,  and  he  has  for  them  the 
most  profound  respect.  From  them  he  believes  himself  de- 
scended. Therefore  he  would  not  harm  an  animal  that  was 
his  totem.  The  Bear  clan  would  not  kill  a  bear,  the  Red  Maize 
clan  would  not  eat  red  maize,  and  .so  on.  Totemism  existed 
among  the  Lsraelites,  and  the  objection  to  eating  pork  is  sup- 
posed by  .some  to  rest  on  the  pig  having  been  one  of  their 
totems.  The  Amerind  also  generally  derived  his  name  from 
some  animal  or  object,  and  he  represented  this  as  his  individual 
totem  mark.  In  the  totem  poles  of  the  North  west  coast,  these 
various  representations  of  totems  were  combined  and  .set  up  be- 
fore the  door  to  indicate  the  relationships  of  the  persons  who 
lived  there." 

Cl--inline.ss  varies  among  the  tribes,  and  is  sometimes  in 
proportion  to  the  ease  or  difficulty  with  which  water  can  be  pro- 
cured. The  Mokis  who  live  in  an  arid  country  and  have  to  carry 
water  long  distances  .seldom  waste  it  in  bathing  or  washing, 
though  I  did  once  see  an  old  Moki  fill  his  mouth  with  water  and 
blow  it  out  in  instalments  over  his  hands.  The  Omahas,  according 
to  Dorsey,  generallj-  bathe  twice  every  day  in  warm  weather. 
They  used  to  help  women  and  children  to  alight  from  horses,  and 
sometimes  carried  them  over  streams  on  their  backs.  Old  men 
and  women  were  never  abandoned  by  them.  Some  men  were  not 
wanting   iu   gallantry.      Dorsey   tells   of  a  young   woman    who 

'  The  clan  totem  is  probably  an  expansion  of  the  individual  totem  by 
increase. 

^  See  pp.  162,  164,  241,  this  book,  for  illustrations  of  totem  poles. 


■■    I 


'rll 


Anion£!j 
t  there  a 
no  right 

le  st(K"ks 
irld  over 

(leri\'e(l 
ced  into 
e  kiiul^  : 
it  are  the 
us  ami  a 
og,  bear, 
ects  and 
hem  the 
iiself  de- 
that  was 
ed  Maize 
I  existed 
^  is  sup- 

of  their 
me  from 
idividual 
ist,  these 

t  up  ])e- 
ous  who 

times  in 
be  pro- 
to  carry 
kVashing, 
ater  and 
ccording 
weather. 
ses,  and 
Old  men 
were  not 
lan    who 

totem  by 


Fifth  Ann,  Kept.,  I'l.  XV. 

A  Navajo  "  Dry  "  Painting  made  w  ith  sand  in  the 
Mountain  Chant  Ceremony.     .See  p.ige  6i. 


r 


^:^^ 


W*;  O  o 


'^"r    &'??    ^•'  £-«c 


Tliird  Ann.  Report,  PI.  IV. 

Copy  of  Plates  65  and  66,  Vatican  Codex  B. 
Each  figure  is  ,1  tree  with  a  person 
clasping  the  trunk.     See  page  72, 

U.  S.  Bu.  Eth. 


Fourth  Ann.  Rept.,  PI.  I. II. 

Page  of  an  Ogiala  Roster — "  Hig- 
Road"  and  band.     Sec  p.i,i;e  59. 


r 


; 


h.-'m 


%/\.    ■: 


\  \ 


jyQ\l\ 


.-,  -^ 


'1     // 


See  Twelfth  Ann,  Rept.,  PI.  XVII. 

Drawing  rcstorej  J.om  fragments  of  a  thin  copper 
plate,  in  repousse  \iork,  from  u  mound  of  the 
Ktdwah  group,  Georgia. 


AMERINDIAN   ART 


m\ 


it 

it 


in 


387 


ill- 


;88 


The   North- Americans  of  Yesterday 


f^    ( 


I  r 


!  ) 


wished  to  halt  at  a  spring.  Her  brother  was  with  her.  The 
ground  was  muddy  and  she  would  have  soiled  her  clothes 
had  she  knelt  to  drink,  but  another  man  rode  up  at  the 
moment,  and,  jumping  from  his  horse,  he  pulled  a  lot  of  grass, 
placing  it  on  the  wet  ground  so  that  she  could  drink  without 
soiling  her  dress. 

When  he  died  the  Amerind  was  disposed  of  in  a  number  of  dif- 
ferent ways.     There  were  burials  in  pits,  graves,  mounds,  cists, 

caves,  and  so  on  ;  there  was 
cremation  ;  there  was  em- 
balming ;  there  was  aerial 
sepulture  in  trees  or  scaf- 
folds ;  there  was  burial  be- 
neath water,  or  in  canoes 
that  were  turned  adrift.  The 
Navajos  leave  the  dead  in 
the  place  where  they  die, 
or  throw  them  into  a  cleft 
in  the  rocks  and  pile  stones 
upon  the  corpse.  In  Ten- 
nessee graves  are  found 
which  were  made  by  lining 
a  rectangular  excavation 
with  slabs  of  stone.  These 
are  ancient  and  resemble 
the  graves  of  the  reindeer 
period  in  France.  Yarrow ' 
speaks  of  them  as  being 
almost  identical.  I  found 
graves  of  similar  description  in  southern  Utah  near  the  Arizona 
line,  but  in  the  two  or  three  that  I  opened  there  were  no  bones, 
only  on  the  bottom  a  shallow  layer  of  what  appeared  to  be  fine 
dark  earth  with  thin  slabs  upon  it ;  doubtless  the  slabs  once  forming 
the  top.'   Some  tribes  wrapped  their  dead  in  fine  furs  or  in  grasses 

'  Dr.  H.  C.  Yarrow,  "  Mortuary  Customs,"      First  Afiti.  Rept.  Bu.  Eth. 

'  The  bead-stones  of  these  graves  were  this  shape,  \  j  and  a  portion 

in  some  cases  protruded  above  the  ground  when  l\  /  was  there. 
The  ground  was  very  sandy.  The  stones  were  natural  \  /  slabs,  about 
i;4  in.  thick.  *— ^ 


U.  S.  Ru.  Eth. 

MOKI    EARTHEN    CANTEEN,    ARIZONA 


X 


Customs  and  Ceremonies 


3^9 


er.    The 

■  clothes 

at    the 

of  grass, 

without 

ler  of  dif- 
ds,  cists, 
here  was 
was  em- 
as  aerial 

or  scaf- 
urial  be- 
1  canoes 
rift.  The 

dead  in 
hey  die, 
o  a  cleft 
le  stones 

In  Ten- 
e  found 
3y  lining 
cavation 
,  These 
resemble 

reindeer 
Yarrow ' 
IS   being 

I  found 

Arizona 
10  bones, 
3  be  fine 
:  forming 
:i  grasses 


and  matting ;  -  others  bnrie.l  in  urns.  In  the  Nortli-west  a  livin- 
s  ave  vvas  buried  with  tiie  deceased.  If  the  slave  were  not  dead  'm 
three  days,  he  was  strangled  by  another  slave.  In  Mexico  the 
custom  of  burying  .slaves  with  the  dead  was  common. 

fo.  'fV'?*'"''^''  '"  ^'''  ^''^'"'^'  '1^-sorihes  Krapl.icallv  a  "death  lo.lj.e"  he 
found,  but,  un.ortunately,  space  is  lacking  to  reprint  it  here 

th.t^ir  ""P^*""*  i"  ^'"^'y'"^'  »'»"^'  ^»«toms  of  the  Amerinds  to  remember 
that  al    members  of  a  tr,be  were  not  neeessarilv  disposed  of  in  the  sa.m 
way.     Cabeza  de  Vaca  n,entio„s  that  "son.etimes  comn.on  members  o 
tnbe  were  buried  while  medicine  men  were  burned." 


U.  S.  Nat.  Mu. 
MODERN   LACED   SANDAL   OF   LEATHER    FRO.M   COLl.MA,    .ME.XICO 


1^ 


nr 


IK 


Bu.  Eth. 


I  a  portion 
s  there. 
)s,     about 


11!       3 


\n  f 


hi  >• 

.11     i! 


U.  S.  liu.  Eth 


ESKIMO  riPE  WITH   STO.NK  liOWL. 


>S 


t!,li^l 


;  i ' ' 


CHAPTER  XIV 

MYTHS,    TRADITIONS,    AND   IvKGKNDS 

PER.SONvS  who  are  obliged  to  rely  on  memory  find  that  mem- 
ory develops  with  use  and  becomes  more  reliable.  The 
Amerinds,  having  no  written  language,  if  we  except  the 
Nahuatl  and  Mayan  tribes,  had  no  way  of  preserving  their  tales, 
traditions,  and  legends  except  to  remember  them,  and  there  can 
1)L-  no  doubt  that  everywhere  on  the  continent  memory  was  highly 
developed.  To  assist  in  recalling  them  they  had  their  picture- 
writing,  already  described.  The  method  is  well  illustrated  in  the 
remarkable  Walani  Oliiui,  or  Red  Score  of  the  Lenape,  where  a 
most  poetic  account  of  the  origin  of  things  is  recorded  b}'  means 
of  a  few  rude  pictures  made  by  lines  and  dots.'  There  has  been 
son\e  doubt  as  to  the  genuineness  of  this  score,  first  recorded  by 
Rafinesque,  but  Brinton,  who  was  a  scholar  of  fine  intellect  and 
calm  judgment  and  thoroughly  versed  in  all  the  intricacies  of  the 
situation,  accepted  it  as  a  genuine  Amerind  production  "which 
was  repeated  oralh'  to  someone  indifferently  conversant  with  the 
Delaware  language,  who  wrote  it  down  to  the  best  of  his  abilitj'. 
In  its  present  form  it  can,  as  a  whole,  lay  no  claim  either  to  an- 
tiquity, or  to  purity  of  linguistic  form.  Yet,  as  an  authentic 
modern  version,  slightly  coloured  by  European  teachings,  of  the 
anciciit  tribal  traditions,  it  is  well  worth  preservation.  .  . 
Tlie  narrator  was  probably  one  of  the  native  chiefs  or  priests,  who 
had  spent  his  life  in  the  Ohio  and  Indiana  towns  of  the  Lenape, 
and  who,  though  with  some  knowledge  of  Christian  instruction, 

'  See  p.  46,  this  book. 
390 


ii!  »■ 


li 


at  niem- 
Ic.     The 
cept  the 
sir  tales, 
here  can 
IS  highly 
picture- 
id  in  the 
where  a 
means 
las  been 
)rded  b}- 
ect  and 
s  of  the 
"which 
with  the 
abilitj-. 
er  to  an- 
uthentic 
3,  of  the 

;sts,  who 
Lenape, 
truction, 


Monuiinntal  Records  Photographed  by  M.  H.  h.ivillc 

TKOCALl.I    (TF.MI'I.F.)    OF    TF.I'O/.TI.AN,    STATK    OF    MORKI.OS,    Mi. \ ICO 

This  view  is  from  the  west  or  baclc  and  shows  a  stairway  and  also  the  built  up  mound  forming  the 
foundation.     The  front  is  entered  l)y  a  broad  (light  of  about  fourteen  stei 


stone.    The  site,  formerly  approached  by  flights  of  steps,  is  on  the  summit 
precipitous  mountain,     '['he  ground  plan,  about  30  ft.  square,  is  similar  to  tl 
with  .1  front  like  the  second.     The  outer  walls  are  1  meter,  90  centimeters  thi 
with  a  smooth  cement,  which  was  painted  in  different  colors.      See  page  240 


•ps.      The  construction  is 
f  a  high  and  dangerously 


^■ere  covered 


'1 


391 


;,  i 


Ijl'  ( 


r! 

|ii: ; 

1  ■ 

a-K  '■ 

y  '•  1 

f  '   \ 

It 

I  ; 

Mil 


[:.    t 


Xr 


» i 


m 


<. 


392  Tht]   North-AiiKTicans  of  Yesterday 

preferred  the  pagan  rites,  legends,  and  myths  of  his  ancestors. 
I'rohahly  certain  hnes  and  passages  were  repeated  in  the  archaic 
form  in  wliich  they  had  been  lianded  down  for  generations.  .  .  . 
The  cosmogony  describes  the  formation  of  the  world  by  the  Great 
Manito,  and  its  subseqnent  despoliation  by  the  spirit  of  the  waters, 
under  the  form  of  a  serpent.  Tlie  hapi)y  days  are  depicted,  when 
men  lived  without  wars  or  sickness,  and  food  was  at  all  limes 
abundant.  iCvil  beings  of  mysterious  power  introduced  cold  anil 
war  and  sickness  and  premature  death.  Then  began  strife  and 
long  wanderings."  '  We  can  readily  understand  how  a  few 
rude  lines  could  recall  to  the  Amerind  mind  a  whole  story,  and 
especially  to  the  mind  of  one  trained  to  exercise  his  memorx-  in 
such  directions.  It  is  not  necessary  for  me  to  do  more  for  the 
Christian  reader  than  write  'W/nas,"  and  he  can  from  it  review 
the  whole  wonderful  .story  of  Christ  in  all  its  details.  So  it  was 
with  the  Amerind.  Those  entrusted  with  the  preservation  of  the 
legends,  etc.,  learned  them  perfectly  and  year  by  year  repeated 
them  on  the  proper  occasion  to  their  followers.     Changes  were 


U.  S.  Nat.  Mu. 

KWAKIUTL    WOOD    CARVINO    OF    TlIK    SISl'I,  ,    NORTH-WEST    ^'OAST 
Worn  in  front  of  the  stom.ich.     Length,  42  in.     See  p.ige  168 

probably  sometimes  made  in  the  text  of  .some  to  suit  them  to 
changed  conditions,  but  the  accuracy  was  so  great  that  myths  and 
legends  have  been  found  to  contain  archaic  words  which  the  mem- 
bers of  the  tribe  were  unable  to  explain,  and  which  yielded  only 
to  the  expert  analysis  of  a  white  linguist. 

•D.  G.  Brinton,  The  LenapS  and  their  Legends, -p^.  158,  164. 


Myths,  Traditions,  and    LcLicnds 


Willi  llie  AiiiL-riiid  a  k''<>"1'  "f^  in>llis,  tnuli  and  Ic^fiuls 

developed  alonj;  with  each  iKirticiilar  stock.  laiij^iiage  had 

its  own  accumulation  of  these  tales,  etc..  relatinj;  to  animals,  to 
natural  forces  personified,  and  sometimes  to  real  ]K'rsona}j;es. 
vSavage  races  worship  animal  gods  and  natural  objects  personified 
as  animals.'  In  the  middle  state  called  l)arl)arisni  the  relij^ioti 
])ecomes  a  worship  of  the  phenomena  of  nature.  ])ure  and  simple, 
freciuently  personified  as  animals  or  heiuLiS,  as  in  the  case  of  the 
thunder  and  lightning  generally  attributed  by  the  Amerinds  to  the 
mysterious  "  thunder-bird,"  which  is  also  Ijelieved  by  some  to  be 
a  great  being  who  takes  on  the  form  of  a  bird.  In  civilisation  the 
worship  of  one  God  takes  the  place  of  all  the  others,  while  the 
myths  and  legends  of  earlier  days  survive  in  mythological  litera- 
ture and  in  uncon.scious  thoughts  and  acts  of  indiviiluals.  Look- 
ing at  the  moon  over  the  right  slumlder  for  luck,  objections  to  a 
certain  number,  the  belief  that  one  stone  is  lucky  and  another  un- 
lucky, are  all  remnants  of  the  era  of  zootheism,  physitheism,  and 
other  early  beliefs.''  Races  cannot  shake  off  earlier  beliefs  entirely, 
but  continue  them  under  changed  forms.  Thus  we  celebrate  many 
pagan  rites  in  our  holidays,  and  pay  a  trii)ute  to  the  Druid  jiriests 
every  time  we  suspend  a  branch  of  mistletoe  in  our  parlours  in  the 
sea.son  when  the  sun  turns  his  course  towards  the  vernal  equinox. 

To  ]iriniitive  man  night  was  a  mysterious  phenomenon,  and 
dawn  often  became  personified  to  him  as  a  bright  and  fair  deliv- 
erer, a  beneficent  being  who  comes  out  of  the  east  bringing  a  train 
of  bles.sings.  Many  myths  recounting  the  coming  of  a  hero, 
prophet,  and  teacher  among  the  Amerinds  and  other  races  are  ac- 
counted for  as  being  dawn  myths,  but  there  is  danger  of  over- 
working this  convenient  hypothesis. 

In  our  literature  many  Amerind  myths  and  legends  have  be- 
come firmly  implanted,  and  they  are  now  as  much  a  part  of  it  as 
the  tale  of  Orpheus,  or  of  Theseus,  or  of  Hercules.  Some  of  theni 
have  been  beautified  by  the  diction  of  our  poets,  and  Longfellow's 
rendering  oi  Hiawatha  is  admired  the  world  over.  This  is  good 
literature,  but  it  is  not  good  ethnology,  because  in  it  an  Iroquois 


1  << 


'  The  spirit  of  any  plant,  any  star,  or  other  personage  in  creation  may 
become  a  man's  attendant.  In  our  popular  phraseology  this  is  called  his 
medicine."— Jeremiah  Curtin,  Creation  Myths,  p.  29. 

"See  "The  Lessons  of  Folklore,"  J.  \V.  Powell,  American  Anthropolo- 
gist, vol.  ii.,  No.  I,  N.  S..  January,  1900. 


i   1 


'i 


I 


M 


i  \ 


'J>  i 


iA 


n  ! 


L".  b.  N.it.  Mil. 


kl;shing  ea{;i.e,  1872 

Second  chi^f  of  the  Mandans  and  son  of  Four  Bears,  Catlin's  great  friend 


\     l 


(  i 


3'H 


Mi        ' 


(I:.- 


h 


Myths,    Traditions,  and   Lci^ends 


395 


■Vj 


Ut^^^^Ji^l^JuXiMld')' 


ig^sHt^^esSg^ 


hero-god  is  placed  in  a  setting  of  Algonquin  legends,  but  this  was 
not  Longfellow's  mistake,  l)Ut  Schoolcraft's,  on  whose  work  Long- 
fellow based  his  poem.  Jeremiah  Curtin  says:  "  vSchoolcraft, 
with  his  amazing  pro[)eusit\-  to  make  mistakes,  with  his  remark- 
able genius  for  missing  the  truth  and  c(Mifusing  everything  with 
which  he  came  in  ccMitact,  gave  the  name 
Hiawatha  to  his  patchwork.  ...  In 
the  face  of  all  this  vSchoolcraft  makes 
Hiawatha,  who  is  peculiarly  Iro(juois,  the 
leading  personage  in  his  Algonkin  con- 
glomerate: Hiawatha  being  an  Iroquois 
character  of  Central  New  York  (he  is  con- 
nected more  particularly  with  the  region 
about  vSchenectady ),  while  the  actions  to 
wh.ich  vSchoolcraft  relates  him  jiertain  to 
the  Algonkin  Cliippewas  near  Lake  Supe- 
rior. It  is  as  if  ICuropeans  at  some  future 
age  were  to  have  placed  before  them  a  great 
epic  narrative  of  French  heroic  adventure 
in  which  Prince  Bismarck  would  appear  as 
the  chief  and  central  Gallic  figure  in  the 
glor\-  and  triumph  of  France."  ' 

But  Hiawatha,  nevertheless,  is  incorporated  in  our  language 
and  our  literature,  antl  altogether  the  concpiered  n\cj.  as  ^••as  in- 
evitable, has  left  an  impress  on  our  character,  on  our  language, 
on  our  geography,  and  on  our  literature  which  can  never,  even  if 
desired,  be  effaced.  The  mark  of  our  contact  with  the  red  man  is 
upon  us  indelibly-  and  forever,  fk-orge  Bancroft  is  not  (piile  ri.<;lit 
when  he  says,  "The  memorials  of  their  former  existence  are 
found  only  in  the  names  of  the  rivers  and  the  mountains.'' 
These  memorials  have  not  only  permeated  our  poetry  and  litera- 
ture generally,  but  the\-  are  perpetuated  in  our  dail\'  food,  and 
e\-er\-  mention  of  "  succotash,"  of  "  nmsli,"  of  '"  chocolate,"  is  a 
tribute  to  their  existence,  while  the  fragrance  of  the  "  tol)acco  " 
v.e  smoke  is  incen.se  lo  their  memory.  Mrs.  Sigourne\-  touched 
this  subject  prettily  in  the  little  i)oem  entitled  hidian  Names : 


U.  S.  l!ii.  Kth. 
I'l.N'K    Cl.iil  II     I'KKSKKVKI) 
l!V   (iiI'TKR    i;i:.M).s 


^i 


■> 

i 


III 


4'- 


Ji 


-x  i 

4 


"  Ye  .say  they  all  have  passed  away, 
That  noble  race  aud  brave, 

'Jeremiah  Cuttiu,  Creation  I\lyths  of  Primitive  America,  p.  499. 


■■    I 


i\ 


IJI 


■•■if 


i   .< 


I'  1 


'  A     I 


If  1  «{ 


■q 


';!. 


396  The   North-Americans  of  Yesterday 

That  their  light  cauoes  have  vanished 

Trom  off  the  crested  wave  ; 
That  mid  the  forests  where  they  roamed 

There  rings  no  hunter's  shout, 
But  their  name  is  on  your  waters, 

Ye  may  not  wash  it  out. 

"Ye  say  their  cone-like  cabins 

That  clustered  o'er  the  vale 
Have  fled  away  like  withered  leaves 

Kefore  the  autumn  gale. 
But  their  memory  liveth  on  your  hills, 

Their  baptism  on  your  shore  ; 
Your  everlasting  rivers  speaK 

Their  dialect  of  yore." 

And  she  might  have  added  that  tlieir  gods  have  seated  them- 
selves with  those  of  the  Greeks  in  our  libraries ;  that  Michabo, 
Tlaloc,  Quetzalcohuatl,  and  others  are  now  companions  of  Jupiter 
and  Neptune  ;  in  short,  that  their  literature,  which  relied  on  oral 
transmission,  has  to  a  large  extent  been  crystallised  in  our  printed 
pages. 

The  Amerind,  not  fortified  by  our  modern  knowledge  and 
philosophy,  regarded  the  outer  world  in  a  far  different  way  from 
what  we  do.  To  him  it  was  not  a  place  where  a  gold  mine  might 
be  found,  or  good  grazing  or  tillable  soil,  but  he  looked  upon  the 
far  distance  as  the  home  of  magical  beings.  Did  the  wind  blow  ? 
It  was  the  breath  of  some  monster  dwelling  in  a  cave  in  the  far 
west,  or  it  was  the  beating  of  the  wings  of  giant  birds  living  at 
the  four  quarters  of  the  compass.  It  was  not  to  the  sky  alone  that 
he  looked  for  the  abode  of  his  gods  ;  they  came  to  him  from  every 
direction,  even  from  the  bowels  of  the  earth.  We  know  what  the 
earth  contains  and  we  grope  for  the  unknown.  The  Amerind  did 
not  know  what  the  earth  contains  ;  it  was  .still  to  him  the  abode  of 
monsters  and  ghosts. 

There  is  in  some  respects  so  great  a  similarity  between  the 
myths  of  the  New  World  and  those  of  the  Old,  that  it  was  at  first 
assumed  that  there  nuist  have  been  early  commiuiication  with 
Europe,  but  more  careful  analysis  has  shown  that  this  is  but  an- 
other evidence  of  what  may  be  called  the  parallelism  of  human  de- 
velopment. Even  where  the  similarity  is  greatest  there  is  nothing 
to  prove  that  the  myths  did  not  originate  independentlv,  and  they 


1     If 


,1  i» 


Myths,   Traditions,   iind   Legends 


397 


are  merely  the  results  of  similar  thoughts,  in  similar  stages  of 
ignorance,  about  the  sun,  the  sky,  and  natural  forces. 

The  Popo/  Vuh,  the  great  collection  of  Quiche  myths,  presents 
Gukumatz  as  one  of  the  four  principal  gods  who  created  the 
world.  Gukumatz  means  shining  or  brilliant  snake,  and  hence 
seems  to  be  the  same  character  as  that  known  to  the  Nahuatis,  or 
Aztecs,  as  Quetzalcohuatl,  whose  name  al.so  means  bright  or  shin- 
ing snake.  But  among  the  Aztecs  Quetzalcohuatl  is  represented 
as  a  man,  while  Gukumatz  is  purely  a  god.  Quetzalcohuatl  was 
tlie  third  of  the  four  Mexican  or  Aztec  gods,  and  to  him  is 
ascribed  all  the  wisdom  which  came  to  the  Aztecs.  He  appears 
under  two  forms,  as  a  god  and  as  an  historical  personage.  He 
has  been  frequently  identified  with  the  dawn,  but  there  seems  to 
be  good  reason  for  believing  that  he  was  a  real  character,  who  be- 
came deified  as  his  good  deeds  passed  down  to  successive  genera- 
tions. Such  prophets  and  teachers  rise  up  in  all  times,  in  all 
ages,  by  the  wayside  of  tribal  or  national  development,  like 
some  rare  and  favoured  tree  of  the  forest  which  out-tops  all  tlie 
otliers.  A  divine  origin  may  be  claimed  for  these  teachers  and 
pro])hets,  l)ut  generally  they  are  only  men  endowed  with  an  ex- 
tremely fine  moral  .sense  and  with  a  perception  and  knowledge 
beyond  their  time.  "  Among  the  Tzendals  of  Chiapas,  the  tradition 
of  \'otan.  who  is  .said  to  have  been  the  first  founder  of  that  tribe, 
bears  great  resemblance  to  Quetzalcohuatl. ' '  '  After  an  admirable 
discussion  of  the  subject  of  the  character  and  origin  of  Quetzalco- 
huatl. Bandelier  .sifts  the  matter  down  to  this:  that  he  was  "a 
prominent  gifted  '  lian  leader,  who  certainly  preceded  the  coming 
of  those  Xahuatl  ii  idcs  that  subsequently  formed  tlie  valley  confed- 
eracy, as  well  as  that  of  the  later  tribe  of  Tlaxcillan.  The  claim  to 
his  origin  accordingly  rests  between  the  so-called  Toltecs  on  one  side 
and  the  Olmeca  and  Xicalanca  on  tlie  otlur."  '  Brinton  believed 
that  Quetzalcohuatl  was  a  pure  personification  of  the  dawn  ni\  ih,' 
but  there  is  too  much  testimony  on  tin  opposite  side  to  permit  the 
acceptance  of  this  opinion  as  final.  H  must  not  be  forgotten  that 
there  were  very  good,  extremely  good,  almost  .saintly,  men,  and 

'  Bandelier,  Arcliccoh\s;ical  Toitr,  ]).  iSo. 

■  Ibid.,  p.  193.      See  p.  170  et  srq.  for  hi  le  discus.sioti  of  Quetzalco- 

huatl.     See  also  the  "Book  of  Quetzalcohuatl."      Payne,  History  of  the 
New  World,  IT.,  p.  435  et  seq. 

American  Hero  Myths,  p.  64  et  seq. 


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Potsherd  Clay  Cast 

ANCIENT   1  ABRIC-MARKEU   PCJTSHERDS,   WITH    CLAY   CASTS    BY   HOLMES 

See  page  io8 

398 


F: 


M\ths,    'I'raditions,   and    Lc'cnds 


309 


women,  too.  amon^-  the  Ainerinds.  The  liistorical  Mexican 
tribes  were  iirececlfd  b\-  otlier  tribes,  sonie  of  which  had  appar- 
entl\-  readied  a  hiulier  state  of  cultnre  than  the  A/.tecs,  and  ( )uct- 
/alcohuatl  possiblx-  came  from  one  of  tliein  as  a  teacher  to  tlie 
newer  and  less  culti\ated  ])eo]>le  ;  newer  in  the  sense  of  having; 
come  into  tliat  re<;ion  frf)ni  some  distance  off.  There  is  notliiii.^ 
preposterons  in  supposin.i:^  that  there  were  teacliers  and  nioraHsls 
in  the  early  days  of  this  continent.  The  character  of  a  lii^h- 
thinkin.L;"  teacher  is  not  incompatible  with  some  of  the  tribes  that 
have  lived  and  died  on  Xorth-Auierican  soil.  As  staled  pre- 
vionsly,  never  were  all  the  tribes  of  the  continent  in  one  cnlture 
condition  ;  there  were  rdways  tribes  that  conld  teach  somethins^-  to 
other  tribes,  and  undoubtedly  philanthropic  individuals  sometimes 
attempted  the  role  of  missionaries,  just  as  they  do  in  other  races 
to-day.  In  fact,  the  recent  "Resurrection  Dance"  or  "Ghost 
Dance"  had  its  prophet  who  ])reaclied  to  the  natives  that  "the 
earth  was  to  be  all  good  hereafter  ;  that  we  must  be  friends  with 
one  another."  Fighting,  he  declared,  was  "  l)ad  and  all  nuist  keep 
from  it."  "  There  is  no  doubt  that  his  religious  teachings  rest  on 
a  well-ordained  religious  system,  and  in  spite  of  the  numerous 
false  reports  that  are  spread  about  him,  he  does  not  claim  to 
be  either  God  or  Jesus  Christ,  the  Messiah,  or  any  divine,  superhu- 
man being  whatever.  '  I  am  the  amiunciator  of  God's  message 
from  the  spiritual  world  and  a  prophet  for  the  Indian  people,'  is 
the  way  he  defines  the  scope  of  his  work  among  men. 
Thus  he  considers  himself  a  messenger  of  God  appointed  in  a 
dream,  and  has  on  that  account  compared  himself  to  St.  John  the 
IJaptist."  '  This  man  is  a  full-blood,  and  it  is  evident  that  such  an 
inspiration  might  have  seized  a  man  of  a  similar  temperament  at 
any  period  of  Amerind  history,  and  given  rise  finally  to  legends  and 
worship  that  would  incorrectly  be  ascribed  to  the  myth  of  the  dawn . 

Quetzalcohuatl  at  length  departed  with  a  promise  to  return,  and 
it  was  the  belief  that  he  would  return  that  caused  Montezuma  to 
at  first  mistake  the  bearded  vSpaniards  for  his  emissaries.  Ouel- 
zalcohuatl  also  wore  a  beard. 

Michabo,  the  Algoiuiuin  counterpart  of  Quetzalcohuatl,  was 
considered  to  be  the  ancestor  of  the  whole  tribe,  the  founder  of 
their  ceremonies,  the  inventor  of  picture-writing,  the  ruler  of  the 

'  A.  S.  Gatschet,  "  An  Indiati  Visit  to  Jack  Wilson,  the  Payute  Messiah," 
Journal  of  American  Folk-Lore. 


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EUTUIIKrAllblli:i'KEbil.Vll,    TIIK   lilACK    MnftAhlN,    CllIEl''   UK   TllK   MIN.VrAREt:S 

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Myths,   Traditions,   and   Lesj^ends 


401 


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weather,  the  creator  and  preserver  of  earth  and  lieaveii.  "  P'roni 
a  i,M-aiii  of  sand,"  says  Brinton,  "brought  from  the  bottom  of  the 
l)rimeval  ocean  he  fashioned  the  liabital)le  hind  and  set  it  floaliny; 
on  the  waters  till  it  j^'iew  to  such  a  size  that  a  stron>;  young  wolf, 
running  constantly,  died  of  old  age  ere  he  reached  its  limits." 

Among  the  Iroquois  the  hero-god  was  called  loskeha,  and  he 
])o>sessed  many  of  the  qualities  of  Michalx)  and  Quet/alcohuatl, 
etc..  though  in  his  case  as  well  as  that  of  Michabo  there  seems  to 
be  no  historical  evidence  of  existence,  as  there  is  with  Quetzalcoh- 
uatl,  and  therefore  they  may  be.  as  claimed  by  Brinton  and  others, 
merely  dawn  myths.  It  is  possible  that  they  may  be  compounds 
of  a  dawn  myth  and  one  or  more  actual  personages. 

The  hero-god  of  the  Mayas  was  It/.amna,  and  he  was  a  bene- 
ficent personage  like  the  others.  Like  Cadmus,  he  invented  let- 
ters, and  he  also  devi.sed  their  calendar.  He  is  spoken  of  as  an 
historical  personage  and  "  is  intimately  associated  with  the  nc^ble 
edifices  of  Itzamal.  which  he  laid  out  and  constructed,  and  o\er 
which  he  ruled,  enacting  wise  laws  and  extending  the  power  and 
happiness  of  his  people  for  an  indefinite  period."  '  Brinton  iden- 
tifies him  with  the  dawn  myth,  but  here  again  it  is  not  conclusive. 
It  seems  quite  as  probable  that  he  was  a  real  person,  upon  whose 
history  certain  myths  have  been  engrafted. 

In  putting  the  Amerind  stories  into  other  languages,  embel- 
lishments and  variations  have  often  been  introduced,  or  the 
translators  have  been  deceived  by  interpreters  or  by  the  Amerinds 
themselves,  while  sometimes  both  causes  have  operated  to  colour  or 
to  alter  the  tales.  .Schoolcraft  has  generally  been  regarded  as  a 
faithful  recorder,  but  in  some  instances  he  has  gone  considerably 
astray.  In  his  time  the  Amerinds  wete  not  so  well  understood, 
nor  were  the\-.  in  all  their  various  stocks,  .so  accessible  as  now. 

Formerly  the  Ivuropean  was  prepared  to  find  in  the  Amerind 
riles  evidences  of  the  Lost  Tribes  of  Israel,  of  the  Chinese,  or  .some 
other  extraordinary  or  romantic  idea.  He  was  not  content  to 
take  things  as  they  were.  Marquette  on  arriving  at  Green  Bay 
was  delighted  with  what  he  believed  to  be  an  evidence  of  Christ- 
ianity, a  large  cross  set  up  in  the  middle  of  the  village,  adorned 
with  skins,  bows,  etc., which  the  people  were  offering  to  their  gods. 
It  was  only  cie  of  the  symbols  of  the  Mide  society,  and  was  in  use 
long  before  the  Di.scovery.  In  the  .same  way  Coronado  found 
'  American  Hero  Myths,  p.  147. 


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Photographed  by  M.  H.  Savillc 

LACANUON   (MAYAN)   AMERIND   FROM   CHOCOI.HAO,    YUCATAN 

402 


Myths,   Traditions 


and   Legends 


403 


crosses  in  New  Mexico,  and  there  were  also  in  Yucatan  the  tablets 
of  the  cross  referred  to  in  a  previous  chapter.  The  early  Span- 
iards turned  loose  their  own  myths  in  the  New  World  and  then 
started  in  pursuit  of  them.  Columbus  himself  was  the  first  to  float 
the  Amazon  myth  to  these  shores,  for  in  a  letter  to  Rafael  Sanchez 
he  speaks  of  an  island  inhabited  solely  by  women,  and  the  Span- 
iards had  a  long  and  fruitless  chase  after  it.'  Thus  tliey  also  pur- 
sued the  myth  of  the  Srzrfi  Citiis,  HI  Dorado,  and  similar  tales. 
El  Dorado,  or,  "The  Gilded  Man,"  really  existed  in  a  ceremony 
in  New  Granada,  where  a  man  was  sprinkled  with  gold  dust,  but 
when  the  Spaniards  had  taken  all  the  gold  from  these  people  they 
went  on  hunting  for  El  Dorado  just  the  same,  though  they  never 
found  hiju  again. 

Certain  resemblances  between  the  myths  of  the  Amerinds  and 
those  of  the  Israelites  increased  the  belief  that  the  Americ.ui  race 
is  the  Lost  Tribes.  The  Mormons  specially  hold  to  this  opinion. 
But  there  is  positively  no  ground  for  the  belief.  The  peculiar  in- 
terest, however,  which  attaches  to  a  comparison  of  Amerind  and 
Israelite  myths  lies  in  the  fact  that  they  resemble  each  other,  not 
only  genericall}',  but  specifically.  They  are  alike  in  their  details. 
Mallery  has  given  much  attention  to  this  subject,  and  he  says  that 
"an  Ojibway  tradition  tells  the  adventures  of  eight,  ten,  and  some- 
times twelve  brothers,  the  youngest  of  whom  is  the  wisest  and  the 
most  beloved  of  their  father,  and  especially  favoured  by  the  high 
powers.  He  delivers  his  brothers  from  many  difficulties  which 
were  brought  about  by  their  folly  and  disobedience.  Particularly 
he  supplies  them  with  corn.  .  .  .  The  Chahta  have  an  elab- 
orate story  of  their  migrations,  in  which  they  were  guided  by  a 
pole  leaning  in  the  direction  which  they  should  take,  and  remain- 
ing vertical  at  each  place  where  they  should  encamp.  A  still 
closer  resemblance  to  the  guidance  of  the  Israelites  in  the  desert  b}' 
a  pillar  of  fire  is  found  in  the  legendary  migrations  of  the  Tusayan 
(Mokis),when  indication  wasmade  by  the  movementandthe  halting 
of  a  star.  The  Pai  Utes  were  sustained  in  a  great  march  through 
the  desert  by  water  that  continually  filled  the  magic  cup  given  to 
the  Sokus  Waiunats  in  a  dream  until  all  were  satisfied  ;  and  a 
similarly  miraculous  supply  of  food  to  the  starving  multitude  is 
reported  by  the  same  people.    In  the  genesis  myth  of  the  Tusayan, 

'  Paytie  accepts  the  Amazou  stories  as  true.  History  of  the  Neiv 
World,  vol.  ii.,  p.  11. 


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Myths,   Traditions,  and   Lci^unds 


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the  culture  hero  was  euabled  to  pass  dry-sliod  through  lakes  and 
rivers  by  throwing  a  staff  upon  tlie  waters,  which  were  at  once 
divided  as  by  walls.  .  .  .  Mr.  \V.  W.  Warren,  in  his  History  of 
the  Ojibway  Natiou,  tells  that  he  sometimes  translated  parts  of 
Bible  history  to  the  oldOjibway  men,  and  their  expression  invari- 
ably was,  'The  book  must  be  true,  for  our  ancestors  liaxe  told 
us  similar  stories  {generation  after  generation  since  the  earth  was 
new.'  "  There  is  also  a  strong  resemljlance  between  many  of  the 
Amerind  myths  and  stories,  antl  tho.se  of  tiie  negro,  as  anyone  may 
see  who  will  compare  them  with  Harris's  delightful  l^ncle  Remus. 

All  races  have  malignant  sprites  that  haunt  rocks  and  watering 
places,  and  the  Amerind  was  no  exception.  The  Uinkarets  of 
Arizona  declared  that  a  certain  water-pocket  where  we  camped  was 
a  favourite  resort  of  the  Woonupits,  a  little  elf  that  is  full  of  mis- 
chief, and  dinar  one  night  insisted  that  he  heard  one  whistling  in 
the  fore.st.  He  fired  a  shot  out  into  the  darkness  to  drive  it 
awoy.  He  did  this  with  great  solenniity  and  deliberation,  antl 
there  was  no  question  as  to  his  faith  in  the  belief.  The  same  lit- 
tle elf  crops  out  in  the  Moki  country  in  the  form  of  t'ne  Kwokwuli, 
a  malignant  sprite  lurking  in  out-of-the-way  places.  He  is  about 
knee-high  and  conceals  himself  behind  a  rock  or  bush,  like  tlie 
Breton  Korrigans  inhabiting  the  Dolmens,  and  when  a  Moki  ap- 
pears he  calls  out  in  a  shrill  falsetto  voice,  "  K^co-kzcul-i-id-t.'"  If 
the  hearer  gives  no  heed  to  the  cry  he  may  pass  by  in  .safety,  but 
should  he  willingly  or  unwillingly  express  any  notice  he  must  ap- 
proach the  elf,  who  immediately  climbs  on  his  back  and  holds  fast 
round  his  neck — Sindbad's  Old-Man-of-the-Sea  over  again.  The 
elf  has  only  rudimentary  legs  and  U'  vings,  and  this  is  his  method 
of  journeying  from  place  to  place. 

The  Amerinds  of  the  .straits  of  Fi  \a  have  distinct  traditions  of 
the  Eskimo  as  a  race  of  dwarfs,  wli*.  live  in  the  "  always  dark 
country,"  on  the  ice,  dive  and  catch  whales  with  their  hands,  and 
produce  the  aurora  by  boiling  out  the  blubber,  the  fires  reflecting 
on  the  .sky.  The  Iroquois  had  legends  of  great  giants,  as  also  had 
other  tribes,  which  were  due  probaijly  to  the  .same  cau.se  as  the 
dwarf  Eskimo  myths  :  ignorance  of  the  outside  world.  These 
were  stone  giants,  and  they  inhabited  the  west.  Once  upon  a  time 
they  started  to  come  and  destroy  the  Senecas,  and  a  war  party  of 
the  latter  proceeded  to  the  encounter.  Before  the  battle  came  off 
a  mighty  wind  came  out  of  the  west  and  swept  all  the  giants  into 


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Myths,  Trailitions,  antl   Lcircnds 


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a  vast  abyss  from  which  they  could  not  escape,  aiul  because  of 
this  friendly  act  the  West  Wind  became  one  ot'  the  .Seneca  ^ods, 
and  was  revered  ever  after.  And  the  I-Nkimo,  while  tlieinselves 
furnishin*;  the  material  for  more  southerly  tribes  to  build  m\ths 
on,  have  their  own  tales  of  a  tribe  called  Ardnaini(|,  liviuLj  in  the 
extreme  Xorth-west.  The  men  of  this  people  arr  small  as  children, 
but  entirely  covered  with  hair.  The\-  are  carried  al)out  in  the 
hoods  of  their  wives  like  bai)ies,  the  wives  bein.i;"  of  normal  size. 
They  have  also  stories  of  a  race  of  women.  The  Inxinois  believed 
that  there  was  ,i  strange  creature  consistint;  simply  of  a  head  with 
large  eyes  and  long  hair,  called  "Great  Head."  When  he  saw 
any  live  thing  he  growled,  "  I  see  thee,  I  .see  thee,  thou  shalt 
die."  They  also  had  their  race  of  dwarfs  with  wonderful  powers, 
who  carved  the  cliffs  and  caves  and  could  destroy  monster  animals. 

The  coyote,  the  bear,  the  sun,  and  all  the  animals  are  endowed 
with  speech  and  great  cuiming,  the  coyote  especially  .so  among 
some  of  the  Western  tribes,  and  are  conceived  as  possessing  human 
attributes,  like  the  "Brer  Rabbit"  and  other  animals  who.se 
prowess  is  related  by  Uncle  Remus.  But  the  Eskimo,  according 
to  A.  L.  Kroeber,  have  comparatively  few  animal  stories.  ICx- 
amples  of  these  animal  stories  may  be  found  in  t'.ie  reports  of  the 
U.  S.  Bureau  of  Ethnology  and  other  publications.  Lack  of 
space  prevents  me  from  introducing  any  here. 

The  slightest  misunderstood  noise  is  sufficient  to  rou.se  the 
Amerind  imagination,  of  which  I  had  an  illustration  in  Arizona. 
I  arrived  at  an  cmt-of-the-way  mine  one  night  with  two  Amer- 
ind guides.  It  was  winter  and  a  stone  cabin  was  placed  at  my 
disposal,  to  which  I  sent  the  natives  while  ni}*  white  comjian- 
ions  and  I  visited  the  men  in  charge.  The  natives  jiresently 
came  in,  saying  there  was  something  wrong  at  the  cabin,  and  they 
would  not  stay  in  it  or  even  near  it.  When  we  investigated  we 
discovered  that  the  whole  trouble  aro.se  from  the  ticking  of  a  small 
clock,  which  we  forthwith  stopped  ;  but  nevertheless  they  would 
not  remain  there  alone. 

Flood  stories  are  numerous  with  all  tribes,  and  whether  they 
arose  in  local  inundations  or  in  some  vast  and  general  flood  can- 
not now  be  determined.  If  in  the  latter,  it  would  be  melting  ice 
of  the  glacial  period.  A  fabulous  being  in  Eskimo  mythology  is 
Kalopaling,  who  lives  in  the  .sea.  His  body  is  like  that  of  a  human 
being  and  he  wears  clothing  made  out  of  eider  ducks'  skins.     His 


ii 


r 


!i 


:i 


Tf^r 


408 


The   North-Americans  of  N'esterclav 


^!    •    ?  ^i 


I   'II. 


jacket  has  an  enormous  hood,  into  which  lie  thrusts  an\-  boatman 
that  may  be  drowned.  He  cannot  speak,  but  merely  cr\ ,  "  lie! 
be  !  be  I  be  !  "  An  Ivskimo  flood  tale  relates  how  the  ocean  loni;  ai^o 
rose  till  it  covered  the  whole  land,  even  to  the  tops  of  the  mountains, 
till  the  ice  drifted  over  them.  When  the  flood  subsided  the  ice 
.stranded  and  has  ever  since  iormed  a  cap  on  their  sunnnils. 

The  keepers  of  the  mytludos^ical  tales  were  tlie  shamans,  and 
they  are  the  real  powers,  generally,  in  a  tribe.  Had  Cortes  under- 
.stood  this  point  he  would  have  sei/.ed,  not  the  war-chief.  Monte- 
zuma, but  one  of  the  shamans,  who  would  have  been  more  valuable 
as  a  hostage.  Many  of  the  shamans  are  believed  to  be  able  to  pass 
through  fire  unharmed,  and  to  handle  it  with  impunity  ;  to  be  able 
to  change  themselves  into  coyotes,  etc.,  and  then  return  to  their 
normal  sliape,  all  at  their  own  pleasure. 

A  legend  of  Montezuma's  coming  has  been  attributed  to  the 
Pueblos  of  New  Mexico,  but  this  is  an  error,  for  they  knew  no- 
thing about  Montezuma  till  the  whites  came  into  the  countrw 
There  are  a  great  many  legends  concerning  the  occupation  of  this 
or  that  place,  and  one  of  these,  the  legend  of  the  former  occupa- 
tion of  the  yl/c'.ya  Encantada,  or,"  Knchanted  Mesa,"  New  Mexico, 
has  recently  caused  a  lively  di.scussion  between  two  distinguished 
ethnologists,  as  to  whether  some  Puebloans  did  or  did  not  once 
live  on  top  of  the  mesa  as  related.  Both  succeeded  in  reaching  the 
top.  One  found  no  evidence  of  any  continued  (occupation  of  the 
mesa  top  ;  the  other  found  what  he  accepted  as  sufficient  evidence  of 
the  truth  of  the  legend  that  Pueblos  had  once  lived  there  and  had 
been  cut  off  from  the  world  below  and  destroyed  by  a  fearful  storm. 

Large  portions  of  the  Maya  chronicles  relate  the  predictions  of 
the  astrologers,  seers,  or  prophets,  and  after  the  habit  of  the  class 
they  foretold  all  manner  of  evil,  but  strangely  enough  they  seem 
to  have  foretold  the  arrival  of  the  Spaniards,  for  they  said  that 
white  and  bearded  strangers  would  come  and  control  the  land  and 
alter  the  prevailing  religion.  What  was  it  that  instilled  them 
with  this  faith  or  fear?  W^^s  it  coir.^idence,  or  was  it  what  is 
now  termed  telepathy?  Whatever  it  was,  the  terrible  fullilmeiit 
came  upon  their  race  like  a  cyclone  ;  and  when  one  more  century 
has  passed  away  the  Amerind  race  will  be  more  truly  even  than 
ncw\  the  North-Americans  (»f  Vesterda\-.' 

'  For  some  Ameritul  le,uemls  (lelijj;litfiilly  related,  see  Blackfoot  Locfqe 
Tiv'rs,  ami  other  books,  hy  Ckorye  I?inl  (iriiiiiell. 


.'if 


ii^ 


!  i  : 


■I'- 


ii  : 


I    i 


i   I 


Hi;  I 


U.  S.  Bu.  Eth. 
ESKIMO  MASK   OF  WOOD,  PRINCE  WILLIAM   SOUND,   ALASKA 


CHAPTER  XV 


ORGAXISATIOX  AND    GOVKRNMENT 


h* 


!    S 


TRIBEvS  often  had  a  definite  organisation  and  a  regular  gov- 
ernment, and  each  held  sway  over  a  territory  with  fixed 
boundaries.  When  the  limits  were  not  placed  at  a  river, 
lake,  or  mountain  range  they  were  marked  bj'  certain  trees  or 
stones,  or  other  natural  features  along  the  trails.  When  at  peace, 
those  who  entered  another  domain  were  considered  visitors,  and 
they  were  expected  to  be  friendly  with  all  friends  of  the  occupants 
of  tlie  region.  "Both  the  Kuchins  and  the  I'^skiinos  are  very 
jealous,"  says  H.  H.  Bancroft,  "regarding  their  Ijoundarics."  ' 

When  I  was  once  coming  out  of  the  vSlievwits  country,  my 
Uinkarets  guide  exclaimed  as  we  passed  a  certain  bowlder  near  the 
trail.  "Now  we  are  out  of  the  Shevwits  land."  Beyond  that 
point  the  Shevwits  would  not  venture  except  in  a  friendly  way, 
.so  long  as  they  were  friendly  with  the  owners  of  tlie  land.  1  re- 
joiced in  this  fact  at  the  time  ])ecause  the  Shevwits  had  not  been 
entirely  agreeable,  and  I  was  glad  to  pa.ss  the  point  where  I  was 
certain  they  would  not  bother  us.  We  were  now  in  the  country 
of  the  vSanta  Clara  tribe. 

'  A'ative  Races,  vol.  i.,  p.  129. 
410 


!i 


Organisation  and  Government 


411 


The  Iroquois  had  the  hal)it  of  occupying  both  banks  of  a  river 
or  lake,  hence  they  did  not  utiHse  these  as  boundaries,  but  ran 
straight  lines,  marked  here  and  there  by  some  well-known  ooject. 
"On  the  boundary  line  between  the  Onondagas  and  Oneidas," 
says  Morgan,'  "  the  most  prominent  point  was  the  Deep  Si)ring 
(I)e(xsongwa)  near  Manlius,  in  the  county  of  Onondaga.  This 
spring  not  only  marked  the  limital  line  between  them,  but  it  was 
a  well-known  stopping-place  on  the  great  central  trail  or  highway 
of  the  Iroquois.  ,  .  .  From  Deep  Spring  the  line  ran  due 
south  into  Peinisylvania,  crossing  the  Susquehanna  near  its  con- 
fluence with  the  Chenango.  North  of  this  spring  the  line  was 
deflected  to  the  west,  leaving  in  the  Oneida  territorx-  the  whole 
circuit  of  the  lake.  Crossing  the  vShe-u-ka  or  Oneida  outlet,  a  few 
miles  below  the  lake,  the  line  inclined  again  to  the  east,  until  it 
reached  the  meridian  of  the  Deep  Spring.  From  thence  it  ran 
due  north,  crossing  Black  River,  at  the  site  of  Watertown,  and 
the  vSt.  Lawrence  to  the  eastward  of  the  Thousand  Islands." 

This  line  separated  territories  belonging  to  two  tribes  of  the 
celel^rated  league,  and  was  not  a  boundary  between  hostile  or  dif- 
ferent tribes.  The  Iroquois  were  exact  about  their  internal 
boundar}  lines,  because  it  served  to  keep  each  member  of  the  con- 
federacy distinct  and  independent,  and  enabled  the  idea  of  home 
rule  to  be  properly  carried  out.  Tliey  always  knew  just  whose 
ground  they  were  on,  just  as  we  know  to-day  which  county  or 
vState  we  are  in.  It  was  another  mark  of  the  wisdom  with  which 
the  confederacy  was  planned. 

Wlien  the  whites  came  to  these  shores  and  took  possession 
right  and  left  of  the  soil,  they  immediately  stirred  up  the  hostility 
of  the  owners,  who  naturally  desired  to  be  considered  in  the  matter. 
Penn  did  consider  them,  and  he  had  no  trouble;  and  I  ha\e  no 
doul)t  much  of  the  fighting  and  enmitv  which  followed  our  com- 
ing might  have  been  avoided  if  Kuropeans  had  more  full\-  recog- 
nised the  native  rights  and  had  paid  a  fair  equivalent  for  what 
they  wanted.  But  there  was  nothing  to  comjjel  this  attention  to 
the  moral  side,  and  justice  must  have  force  to  bind  it  ;  l)esides, 
owing  to  the  large  influx  of  wliites,  the  Amerinds  were  inevitably 
driven  back.  The  ICnglish  in  a  measure  finally  recognised  the 
Iroquois  rights  and  then  afterwards  turned  this  to  good  account 
by  claiming  sovereignty  over  the  territory  on  the  ground  that  the 

'  Lt'affid'  of  the  Iroquois,  p.  4  v 


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m 


i 

!1 


it  I 


'  I 


412  The   North-Americans  of  Yesterday 


'?.  ;,  I 


I   '! 


Iroquois  were  Britisli  subjects.  The  Navajos  recoi^nise  the  vSau 
Juan  River  as  their  northern  Htnit  aiul  the  Southern  I'tes  corre- 
spondinj^h'  accepted  it  as  their  soutliern  Hniit.  "The  chiinis  of 
tlie  vSus(|ueliannocks  extended  down  the  Chesapeake  liay  on  the 
east  shore,  as  far  as  the  Choptank  River  antl  on  the  west  ^hore  as 
far  as  tlie  Patuxent.  In  1654  they  ceded  to  the  government  of 
Marylantl  their  southern  territory  to  these  l)oundaries."  '  Thus 
it  is  proved  that  Maryland  recognised  their  ownership.  Tliese 
examples  are  enough  to  show  that  the  territorial  rights  of  each 
tril>e  were  definitely  understood,  just  as  nations  to-day  have  estal)- 
lished  limits.  When  the  .settlements  of  our  people  finalh-  crowded 
tribes  ba^:k  upon  each  other's  domain,  a  great  deal  of  confusion 
and  dispute  arose  as  to  ownership,  and  when  the  government  be- 
gan to  pay  for  lands  it  was  often  necessary  to  pay  for  the  same 
tract  several  times,  owing  to  the  conflicting  claims. 

Scattered  over  the  territory  claimed  or  held  by  a  tribe  were  the 
houses  and  villages  of  the  tribe  or  the  .sub-tribes.  Powell  states 
that  ''every  tribe  lived  in  a  village,  and  every  village  constituted 
a  distinct  tribe."  But  the  village  was  often  spread  over  a  wide 
region.  Speaking  of  this,  Adair  says:  "  A  stranger  might  be  in 
the  middle  of  one  of  their  populous,  extensive  towns  without  .seeing 
half  a  dozen  houses  in  the  direct  course  of  his  path."  '  But  this 
was  only  in  the  interior  of  the  country  of  a  tribe.  Along  the  front- 
ier the  towns  would  be  more  compactly  arranged,  in  order  that 
the  people  might  easily  be  called  to  defend  them.  The  villages 
were  usually  permanent,  though  they  were  frequentl}',  .some  amui- 
ally,  abandoned  temporarily  at  certain  .seasons  for  the  pursuit  of 
game  or  for  .some  other  good  reason,  all  the  people  coming  to- 
gether again  as  the  cold  weather  approached.  The  Xavajos  often 
have  a  winter  home  in  the  lower,  sheltered  lands  of  their  territory, 
while  in  summer  they  proceed  to  the  higher  levels  where  the  win- 
ter snows  are  deep  and  the  summer  grass  is  high.  Each  Amerind 
village  always  had  at  least  one  a.ssembh'  place  for  which  they 
had  their  special  names,  but  the  general  term  that  is  now 
often  used  by  ethnologists  is  that  of  kiva,^  borrowed  from  the 
Mokis,  because  the  Moki  kiva  is  a  representative  of  the  general  as- 
.sembly  hall  and  council-chamber,  or  lodge.     The  kiva,  besides 

'  Briiiton,  The  Letiaf>^,  p.  15. 

-  Hhtory  of  the  A)tu'yica)i  Indians,  p.  2S2. 

•*  See  Macmillan's  Dictionary  of .  I irhUfctutT  ;  ])ronounce(l  kee-vah. 


I     ij 


'Ml 


I  ■ 


; 
.i 
'  : 
I 

1 


Photographed  by  J.  K.  Millers,  U.  S.  Geological  Survey 

I'LENTY-HORSKS,    A   CHEYENNE 


1 


413 


h    » 


414 


The   North-Americans  of  Yesterday 


:'3' 


'    i 


i  .  1 


,  , ,  ( 


being  used  for  social  purposes,  as  a  lounging-place  and  a  working- 
place  for  the  men,  is  also  used  for  religious  functions.  Those 
structures,  therefore,  which  crowned  the  mounds  of  the  United 
States  and  Mexico,  and  are  usually  designated  as  "temples," 
were  possibly  more  of  the  nature  of  kivas,  a  temple  in  our 
usage  being  a  structure  devoted  solely  to  worship,  whereas  many 
Amerind  buildings  of  this  class  were  used  for  various  purposes. 
Often  there  were  several,  depending  on  the  size  of  the  tribe.  The 
tribe  was  organised  on  the  basis  of  the  gens  or  the  clan,  and  each 
gens  or  clan  might  have  its  own  kiva.  They  might  also  belong 
to  some  of  the  secret  orders,  so  that  we  may  enumerate  three 
kinds  :  the  tribal,  or  chief  kiva,  the  kiva  belonging  to  the  gens  or 
clan,  and  the  kiva  belonging  to  the  phratry,  or  secret  society.  The 
gens  and  the  clan  were  groups  of  blood  relations,  or,  as  put  by 
Powell,  "an  organised  body  of  consanguineal  kindred."  '  The 
members  of  a  gens  often  lived  in  one  house  or  in  a  group  of 
houses;  for  example,  among  the  Iroquois  in  the  long-house,' 
with  its  row  of  camp-fires,  while  in  some  other  tribes  each  family 
might  have  its  own  house  or  tent,  but  they  would  then  generally 
pitch  or  build  it  contiguous  to  the  other  habitations  of  their  gens. 
It  was  this  principle,  in  vogue  in  almo.st  all  the  tribes  of  America, 
which  directed  the  character  of  most  of  the  Amerind  structures. 
Everybody  in  a  tribe  belonged  to  a  gens  or  clan,  otherwise  he 
could  not  be  in  the  tribe.  The  complete  organisation  of  the  tribe 
then  was  :  a  group  of  families  forming  a  gens  or  clan,  two  gentes 
being  represented  in  each  family  ;  the  "  father  must  belong  to  one 
gens  and  the  mother  and  her  children  to  another,"  descent  being 
commonly  in  the  female  line,  and  marriage  within  a  gens  being 
forbiddtii  ;  a  group  of  gentes  formed  the  phratry,  and  a  group  of 
phratries  formed  the  tribe,  while  a  group  of  tribes  formed  the  con- 
federacy, probably  the  highest  form  of  govennnent  the  Amer- 
inds reached.  The  phratry  as  an  organisation  was  often  absent, 
and  the  tribe  was  then  composed  of  the  gentes  without  any  further 
grouping.  Powell  seems  to  use  "phratry"  in  a  different  sense 
from  Morgan  and  .some  other  writers.  Morgan  described  a 
phratry  as  a  group  of  gentes,  whereas  Powell  defines  it  as  simply 
a  brotherhood  or  societ\'.  Each  gens  governed  itself  so  far  as  its 
internal  affairs  were  concerned  ;  that  is,  it  had  home  rule,  just  as 

'  First  Ann.  Rept.  Bu,  Eth.,  p.  59. 

'  See  Macmillan's  Dictionary  of  Architecture.  . 


I.'     I 


'\ 


r  ; 


U.  S.  Nat.  Mu. 


H 


NORTu-uF.sT  (OAsr  haskitky  hats 

Made  of  grass  and  sprucu  mots 

A.  Parasol-sliapt'd  hat  with  totemic  design  on  ti>p  and  paintcil  in  solid  colour  on  rcniaindcr  of  outside  sur 

face,      riinkit 
I!.  Has  wooden  appcndaces  representing  tlie  Ixak  of  the  raven.      Tlinkit 
C.  Cedar  hark  hat.     (1  stiows  method  of  pl.iitin^  it 

K.   'I'op  view  of  I),  showing  totemic  design  of  hooych,  the  raven,     flaida 
H.   Is  method  of  weaving  the  top,  K  of  the  bottom  part  of  I) 

See  also  figures  on  pp.  146,  ifxi 
4'5 


w 


:'■        t 


!! 


t 


i      n 


:    / 


h  li 


I      ■:         ', 


416  The  North- Americans  of  Yesterday 


we  have  it  to-day  in  our  towns,  counties,  etc.  It  sent  delegates 
to  the  council  of  the  tribe  to  represent  it,  and  it  elected  its  own 
officers.  There  wa:i  sometimes  no  tribal  or  liead  chief.  I  never 
could  learn  of  any  amonj;  the  Navajos,  and  the  Iroquois  had  none. 
When,  as  was  frequent,  tliere  was  a  sachem,  or  tribal  chief,  he  was 
cliosen  or  elected  by  the  chiefs  of  the  various  clans  or  gentes 
forming  the  council,  but  in  some  tribes  he  inherited  the  office,  or 
at  least  the  light  to  hold  it.  I  understood  this  to  be  the  case 
among  the  Kaivavits  Utes  of  southern  Utah.  A  gens  had  the 
right  to  take  into  its  ranks  any  alien  it  chose  to.  Such  a  person 
was  then  a  member  of  that  gens  and  partook  of  all  the  benefits  or 
disadvantages,  as  the  case  might  be.  He  was  a  son  or  brother  or 
husband,  or  the  corresponding  relationships  if  a  woman,  and  on  all 
occasions  was  treated  as  if  he  had  been  born  into  the  gens  or  clan 
instead  of  adopted  into  it.  He  was  therefore  eligible  for  all  offices 
in  the  tribe,  and  white  men  in  this  way  sometimes  became  chiefs, 
Beckwourth,'  who,  however,  was  really  supposed  by  a  Crow 
woman  to  be  her  long-lost  .son,  became  head  chief  of  the  Crows, 
and  held  the  office  with  distinction  for  a  number  of  years.  He 
began  by  being  fifth  councillor.  "  In  the  Crow  nation  there  are 
six  councillors,  and  by  them  the  nation  is  ruled.  There  are  also 
two  head  chiefs,  who  .sit  with  the  council  whenever  it  is  in  session. 
The  office  of  finst  councillor  is  the  highest  in  the  nation  next  to 
the  head  chiefs,  whose  authority  is  equal.  If  in  any  of  these  divi- 
sions, when  a  matter  is  brought  to  the  vote,  the  suffrages  are 
equal,  one  of  the  old  pipemen  is  summoned  before  the  council  and 
the  subject  under  discussion  is  stated  to  him,  with  the  substance 
of  the  arguments  advanced  on  both  sides ;  after  hearing  this  he 
gives  his  casting  vote,  and  the  question  is  finally  settled."  " 

George  Bancroft  says,  "  Ther'^  have  been  chiefs  who  could  not 
tell  when,  where,  or  how  they  obtained  power.  .  .  .  Opinion  could 
crowd  a  civil  chief  into  retirement,  and  could  dictate  his  succes- 
.sor."  Opinion  was  a  mo.st  potent  factor  in  all  tribes,  and  this 
would  be  largely  directed  by  those  having  popularit}'  and  power. 
Officers,  in  fact  all  persons,  become  extremely  well  known  in  the 


ii  ,.;i  I 


'  Parkman  mentions  Beckwourth  in  the  Oregon  Trail,  p.  124,  as  "  a 
mongrel  of  French,  American,  and  Indian  blood.  .  .  .  He  is  a  ruffian 
of  the  worst  stamp,  bloody  and  treacherous,  without  honour  or  honesty  "; 
but  other  writers  seem  to  give  him  a  better  character. 

^  Beckwourth,  Life  and  Advcutures,  first  ed.,  pp.  227,  228. 


I 


A 


B 


C 


11 


n 

U.  S.  Nat.  Mil. 


E 


NiiKIII-WKsr    (OAST    MdRllAkV    AND    COMMKMORA 1  I VK   COLUMNS 
A.   K^iiuMni.     Contains  a  bux  luikliiig  ashes  of  tliu  dead 
I'..   Kaigani.     ('(inip.irtnicnt  Ijuardt'd  up  tiintains  the  remains  in  a  box 
C.   K.ii^.nii,     Supported  box  contains  tlie  deail 
]).   l)ifferent  form  of  C 
K.   Maid  a.     Commemorative  (.oliimn  put  in  front  of  the  house  of  deceased,  the  body  Ijein;;  phiced 

at  a  distance 
I'".  Haida.     Commemorative  column  same  as  hist  but  with  two  posts 


41: 


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The   North-Americans  of  N'esterclay 


small  community  of  an  Ameriiul  tribe.  Every  peculiarity  of  tem- 
perament was  tuulerstood,  and  the  individual  was  respected  or 
despised  acci)rding  to  his  predominating  characteristics.  Those 
who  were  l)old  and  fierce  and  full  of  strategy  were  made  war- 
chiefs,  while  those  who  possessed  judgment  and  decision  u  ere 
made  civil  c-hiefs  or  governors.  In  many  tribes  the  civil  and  llie 
military  branches  of  govermnent  are  separate  and  distinct.  Cert- 
ain chieftains  were  the  peace  chiefs.  "They  could  neither  go  to 
war  themselves,  nor  send  nor  receive  the  war  belt  —  the  ominous 
string  of  dark  wampum,  which  indicated  that  the  tempest  of  strife 
was  to  be  let  loose.  Their  proper  badge  was  the  wampum  belt, 
with  a  diamond-shaped  figure  in  the  centre,  worked  in  white 
beads,  which  was  the  symbol  of  the  peaceful  coimcil  fire,  and  was 
called  by  that  name.  War  was  declared  by  the  people  at  the  in- 
stigation of  the  '  war-captains,'  valorous  braves,  of  any  birth  or 
family,  who  had  distinguished  thetnselves  bj'  personal  prowess, 
and  especially  by  good  success  in  forays  against  the  enemy.  Nor 
did  the  authority  of  the  chiefs  extend  to  any  infringement  on  the 
traditional  rights  of  the  gens,  as,  for  instance,  that  of  blood  re- 
venge. The  ignorance  of  this  limitation  of  the  central  power  led 
to  various  misunderstui.  lings  at  the  time,  on  the  part  of  the 
colonial  authorities,  and  since  then,  by  later  historians.  Thus  in 
1728  the  Delaware  Indians  on  Brandy  wine  were  summoned  by 
the  Governor  to  answer  about  a  murder.  Their  chief,  Civility, 
answered  that  it  was  committed  by  the  Minisinks,  '  over  whom 
they  had  no  authority.'  This  did  not  mean  but  that  in  .some 
matters  authority  could  be  exerted,  but  not  in  a  question  relating 
to  a  feud  of  blood."  '  War-chiefs  as  well  as  civil  chiefs  were 
elected  by  the  council,  and  could  be  deposed  also  by  the  council 
whenever  it  was  desirable. 

Brinton  saj's,  "The  gentile  .sy.stem  is  by  no  means  universal, 
.  .  .  where  it  exi.sts,  it  is  often  traced  in  the  male  line ;  both  prop- 
erty and  dignities  may  be  inherited  directly  from  the  father.  .  .  . 
In  fact,  no  one  element  of  the  system  was  uniformly  respected,  and 
it  is  an  error  of  theorists  to  make  it  apjiear  so.  It  varied  widely  in 
the  same  stock  and  in  all  its  expressions."  '  This  intricate  sub- 
ject cannot  be  fully  understood  till  the  organi.sation  of  many  tribes 
has  been  studied  in  detail.      "In  some  tribes,  as  the  Dakota, 

'  Briuton,  The  Lenapi\  p.  47. 
*  The  American  Raci\  p.  46. 


*i 


Orjj^anisation  and  ("lovcrnmt'nt 


419 


"1, 
.1 

M 


the  gentes  had  fallen  out ;  in  others  as  aiiioiij;  the  Ojihways,  the 
Omahas  ami  the  Mayas  of  Yucatan  descent  had  l)ecn  changed 
from  the  female  to  the  male  line."  '  But  Powell  and  Mon^an  both 
hold  that  the  majority  of  the  Amerind  tribes  were  organised  on 
the  basis  of  descent  iti  the  female  line.  "The  gens  came  into 
being,"  says  Morgan,  "  upon  three  principal  conceptions,  namely  : 
the  bond  of  kin,  a  pure  lineage  through  descent  in  the  female  line, 
and  non-intermarriage  in  the  gens."  " 

Powell  in  his  article  on  the  "North  American  Indians"  in  John- 
son's Cyclopedia  .seems  to  u.se  the  term  ' '  clan  ' '  to  describe  a  body  of 
kindred  with  descent  in  the  female  line,  and  "  gens  "  where  the  de- 
.scent  is  in  the  male  line.  "  In  most  of  the  tribes  the  fundamental 
unit  of  organ i.sation  was  the  clan,"  he  .says,  and  then  again,  "  a  few 
of  the  tribes  were  organised  on  the  gentile  plan  and  in  the  gens  kin- 
ship is  reckoned  in  the  male  line."  Such  a  distinction  would  be 
convenient,  but  Morgan  did  not  recognise  it  at  the  time  of  his 
writing,  as  is  evident  from  the  quotation  above  from  his  Ancient 
Society,  and  general  u.sage  seems  not  to  have  defined  gens  to  mean 
descent  in  either  line  specifically.  Nevertheless,  there  is  probably 
no  reason  why  the  distinction  should  not  be  made  with  regard  to 
the  Amerinds,  at  least,  if  it  .should  be  agreed  upon.  Powell  also 
says  :  "  As  a  clan  is  a  group  of  people  who  reckon  kinship  through 
females  to  .some  ancestral  female,  real  or  conventional,  so  a  gens  is 
a  group  of  people  who  reckon  kinship  through  males  to  some  an- 
cestral male,  real  or  conventional.  It  .seems  that  the  primordial 
constitution  of  the  tribe  is  by  clanship  an<'  that  the  clanship  tribe 
is  developed  into  the  gentile  tribe.  Most  of  the  tribes  of  North 
America  have  clanship  organisation,  yet  there  is  a  goodly  number 
with  gentile  organi.sation,  while  perhaps  it  ma\-  be  .said  that  a 
majority  of  the  clanship  tribes  have  some  elements  of  the  gentile  or- 
gani.sation ;  .so  that  it  may  be  justly  affirmed  that  a  great  many  of 
the  tribes  on  this  continent  are  in  the  stage  of  transition,  and  there  is 
scarcely  a  gentile  tribe  which  has  not  some  feature  of  clanship  or- 
gani.sation as  a  survival."  '  The  privileges  and  obligations  of  the 
gens  (or  clan)  were,  according  to  Morgan   as  follows  : 

"  I.  The  right  of  electing  its  sachem  or  chief. 

'  Morgan,  Houses  and  House  Life,  p.  8.     "In  the  ancient  gens  descent 
was  limited  to  the  female  Hue."     /hid.,  p.  5. 
"  Ancient  Society,  p.  69. 
^American  Anthropologist,  N.  vS.,  vol  i.,  No.  4,  October,  1899,  p.  710. 


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420  riu!   North- Americans  of  Yesterday 


"  II.  The  ri^ht  of  deposing  its  sachem  or  chief. 

"  III.  The  obligation  not  to  marry  in  the  gens. 

"  IV.  Mutual  rights  of  inheritance  of  the  property  of  deceased 
members. 

'  \'.   Reciprocal  obligations  of  help,  defence,  and  redress  of  in- 
juries. 

"  VI.  The  right  of  bestowing  names  upon  its  members. 

"  \'II.  The  right  of  adopting  strangers  into  the  gens. 

"VIII.  Connnon  religious  rites. 

"  IX.  A  common  burial-place. 

"  X.  A  council  of  the  gens."  ' 

Among  the  Wyandots  there  is  a  council  in  each  gens  composed 
of  four  women.  "  These  four  women  councillors  .select  a  chief  of 
the  gens  from  its  male  members  —  that  is,  from  their  brothers  and 
sons.  This  gentile  chief  is  the  head  of  the  gentile  council.  The 
council  of  the  tribe  is  compo.sed  of  the  aggregated  gentile  councils. 
The  tribal  council  then  is  compo.sed  of  one-fifth  men  and  four-fifths 
women."  ^  Tiiis  is  not  the  ca.se  with  other  tribes,  however. 
Among  the  Tlinkits  it  is  the  richest  who  "obtain  the  highest 
places,"  the  .selection  of  the  chiefs  depending  entirely  on  the 
amount  of  property  they  have ;  that  is,  on  a  property  basis. 
These  Amerinds  have  a  belter  appreciation  of  properly  than  any 
others  I  have  ever  seen.  They  .seldom  haggle,  but  in  selling  Ihey 
.state  a  price  and  adhere  to  it.  A  smaller  amount  offered  is  usually 
treated  with  .scorn. 

The  sign  of  clan  or  gens  member.ship  was  the  totem,  all  mem- 
bers of  Ihe  same  gens  having  the  same  totem,  and  his  or  her  name 
usually  indicating  this  totem.  For  example,  if  we  know  an  Am- 
erind woman's  name  to  be  Spotted  Fawn,  we  place  her  at  once  in 
the  deer  clan.  The  deer  is  the  animal  that  .she  looks  up  to  as  l)e- 
ing  most  intimately  connected  with  her  past  and  her  future,  and 
from  which  her  ancestors  were  descended.  This  is  the  clan  or 
gens  totem.  As  mentioned  in  a  ])revious  chapter,  there  are  also 
two  other  kinds  of  totems,  tlujse  ])ertaining  to  sex  and  those  per- 
taining to  the  individual  alone.  Totems  are  always  chosen  from 
a  class  of  organic  objects,  while  a  fetich  ma>-  be  anything  at  all. 
Thus  the  totems  are  deer,  frogs,  bears,  snakes,  corn,  etc.,  while 
a  fetich  may  be   a   pebble,    a   piece  of  glass    wrapped    in   a   bit 

'  Aticicftt  Society,  p.  71,  aiul  //oitsrs  ami  ffousf-Li/v,  p.  7. 
'•^  Powell,  First  Ann.  Ript.  Ihi.  Ft/i.,  j).  61. 


,  :i' 


Onj.'inisatioii  and  Government 


421 


.',  ami 


of  buckskin  toj^ethcr  with  a  feather,  or  some  similar  object.  The 
fetich  was  a  talisman,  the  totem  a  beneficent  attendinj^  spirit  and 
a  sign  of  family  and  origin- 

The  Iroqnois  confederacy  was  planned  by  Hiawatha  throngh 
Daganowciiji  as  an  interpreter  of  his  ideas  and  wishes.  Some, 
Horatio  Hale  for  one,  think  that  Hiawatha  was  a  real  person,  and 
others  that  it  was  Diiganowdda  who  did  the  work  nnder  the  gnise 
of  representing  Hiawatha.'  However  this  may  be,  the  organisa- 
tion of  the  several  tribes  into  the  confederacy  was  a  work  of 
genins,  and  this  was  one  of  the  highest  g(jvennnents  that  was 
disci)vered  on  this  continent.  We  cannot  say,  however,  that  it 
was  the  highest  that  ever  e.xisted,  next  to  that  of  the  Aztecs  or  the 
other  Central  Amerinds,  for  we  really  do  not  know  what  there 
may  have  been  before,  not  only  in  Mexico  and  Central  A  nerica, 
but  in  the  Mississippi  valley  or  even  in  the  State  of  New  York. 
As  noted  in  a  previous  chapter,  if  the  Iroquois  had  disappeared 
befcjre  our  arrival,  we  could  have  gained  no  conception  of  their  re- 
markable government  from  any  remains  that  we  would  have 
found.  The  Mississippi  valley  and  the  vSouth-west,  as  well  as 
Mexico  and  Central  America,  exhibit  traces  of  tribes  who  may 
easily  have  arrived  at  a  governmental  development  equal  to,  if, 
indeed,  not  superior  to,  that  of  the  A/.tecs  or  the  Iroquois.  These 
tribes  were  undoubtedly  Amerind,  but  there  is  nothing  to  prove 
that  earlier  Amerind  tribes  were  inferior  in  their  political  develop- 
ment to  later  ones. 

The  misconceptions  of  the  Spaniards  due  to  ignorance  of  Am- 
erind organisation  gave  false  colouring  to  the  Aztec  confederacy  ; 
and  the  flowing  diction  of  Prescott,  genuned  with  terms  and  titles 
ap])licable  to  Old-World  society,  but  having  no  place  in  that  of  the 
New,  added  to  the  confusion.  Pages  relating  to  "nobles," 
"princes,"  "royal  allies,"  "sovereigns,"  "lords,"  etc.,  do 
not  help  in  fathoming  the  intricacies  of  Amerind  govermnent. 
Had  the  Spaniards  met  with  the  Iroquois  we  should  have  liad 
something  similar  in  their  case ;  and  the  fact  that  they  had  no 
head  chief  would  not  have  been  discovered  by  the  conquistadores, 
so  eager  for  other  prey.  One  of  the  war-chiefs  would  again  have 
been  taken  for  a  royal  personage,  and  the  sachems  and  councillors 
would  have  been  nobles  and  princes,  while  the  outlying  tribes  of 

'  Originally  Hayoivcnthii  in  the  IMohawk.      He  and  Ddganoividd  are 
usually  considered  mythical  personages. 


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\M  IIM     rilHI.iiAN    MiHCASINS    Ol     IIIIKI.,    AUi/ONA 

Kxcept  I'lWer  Iffi  li.iinl  ■■iie  wnrii  In  tin:  Aiiius  of  ^'o/l^  J.iii.iii.  liiifilnLt-il  fur  ciiniparisoii.  The 
Aiiiiis  were-  (iri'li.ililv  ilif  iirlifst  •iilMhit.iiits  nf  J,i|iui.  In  1  iiiuii.  k;e  and  (haracter  they  are 
different  fmin  J  ip  inf.e 

422 


Oriranisation  and  Government 


423 


K    I 


I'    S 


llie  Five  Nations  would  have  filled  the  bill  for  royal  allies.  It  is 
likely  that  the  Aztec  government  was  in  advance  of  that  of  the  Ir- 
oquois, but  that  there  was  any  royalty  about  it  nuist  be  doubled 
till  better  evidence  is  available.  On  the  other  hand,  Morgan's  at- 
tempt to  prove  that  the  Aztec  organisation  was  not  beyond  that 
of  the  Pueblos  or  the  Iroquois  is  to  be  taken  with  caution.  Brin- 
lon  sa\s :  "  The  govennnent  of  the.se  states  did  not  differ  in  princi- 
ple from  that  of  the  northern  tribes,  though  its  development  had 
readied  a  later  stage.  Descent  was  generally  reckoned  in  the 
male  line,  and  the  male  children  of  the  decea.setl  were  regarded  as 
the  natural  heirs  both  to  his  property  and  his  dignities.  Where 
the  latter,  however,  belonged  rather  to  the  gens  than  the  individ- 
ual, a  form  of  election  was  held,  the  children  of  the  deceased  being 
given  the  i)reference.  In  this  sense,  which  was  the  usual  limita- 
tion in  Amer-A-,',  many  positions  were  hereditary,  including  that 
of  the  chieftaincy  of  the  tribe  or  confederation.  The  Montezuma 
who  was  the  ruler  who  received  Cortez.  was  the  grandson  of  Ax- 
ayacatl.  who  in  turn  was  the  son  of  the  first  Montezuma,  each  of 
wliom  exerci.sed  the  chief  power."  '  The  daughter  of  the  first 
Montezuma  seems  to  have  occupied  the  position  of  head  cliief 
for  a  time,  or,  as  Prescott  would  put  it,  she  was  queen.  It  is  pos- 
sible that  while  Montezuma  was  a  war  chief  he  may  have  com- 
bined certain  civil  powers  with  his  war  office,  and  that  the 
confederacy  was  actually  on  the  road  to  an  absolute  monarch}'  "'  or 
sometliing  of  the  kind,  which,  if  humui  pni^'ress  takes  alwa\sthe 
same  general  directions,  was  the  next  stnge  to  be  expected  on  this 
soil.  Bandelier,  Morgan,  and  others  see  in  the  various  ^Mexican 
tribes  and  confederacies  little  that  is  different  from  the  organisa- 
tion of  the  Amerinds  to  the  northward,  and  probably  when  all  is 
well  understoofl  we  ma\-  find  that  they  are  not  far  from  correct  ; 
that,  while  there  are  differences,  tlie\-  are  yet  not  sufficient  to  en- 
title the  Mexicans  to  the  separation  from  other  Amerinds  that  has 
been  claimed  for  them  by  romantic  writers.  Speaking  of  Tlax- 
cala,  the  famous  "province"  where  Cortes  found  a  resting-place 
on  his  inward  journey,  Bandelier  sa\s  :  "  Owing  to  a  misconcep- 
tion of  aboriginal  instituti<>iis,  it  ha:;  been  palmed  off  as  a  kind  of 
Mexican  Switzerland,  as  a  free  repiiljlic  in  the  midst  of  despoti- 
cally ruled  communities.     Such  was  not  the  case.    There  was  not 

'  Thf  A  inert  cart  Race,  p.  130. 

''  Payne,  as  before  iw/U-'d,  says  "  a  military  despotism." 


11 


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424  The   North-Americans  of  Yesterday 

the  .'slightest  fundamental  difference  between  the  social  organisa- 
tion and  mode  of  government  of  the  Tlaxcaltecos  and  that  of  the 
Mexican  tribe;  but  the  excepJonal  geographical  position  of  the 
latter  and  the  natural  barrenness  of  their  land  led  them  to 
seek  means  of  subsistence  from  abroad.  The  confederacy  of  tril)es 
grew  out  of  tribal  organisation,  and  the  greater  ability  of  the  in- 
habitants of  the  Central  Valley  gave  to  their  confederacy  a  power 
of  aggression  superior  to  that  of  any  other  aboriginal  cluster  in  tlie 
same  country.  .  .  .  The  Tlaxcaltecos  were  organised  in  four  lo- 
calised/»//;vi'//7V5,  like  the  Mexicans.  Two  elective  chiefs — that  is, 
elective  in  regard  to  the  individual,  but  with  heredity  of  oftice  in 
a  certain  g-f/is — formed  the  nominal  head  of  the  tril)e.  The  true 
directive  power,  however,  lay  in  the  council  of  the  tribe.  The 
tribe  of  Mexico  had  a  similar  organisation.  What  created  an  ap- 
parent dissimilarilv'  was  the  confederacy  of  the  valley  tribes,  with 
its  chief-captain  always  taken  from  the  Mexicans.  As,  in  the 
single  tribe,  the  war-chief  office  was  hereditary  in  the  ,L;tfi<,  >o.  in 
the  confederacy,  the  same  office  becomes  lereditary  in  the  trilu  ."  ' 
How  different  is  the  wording  of  Prescott  when  speaking  ot  ihe 
Aztec  organisation  !  ' '  The  government  u  us  an  elective  monarchy. 
Four  of  the  principal  nol^k-s,  who  had  l)ecu  cho.sen  b\' tiieiv  own 
body  in  the  preceding  reign,  filled  ihe  office  of  electors,  ti  .''om 
were  added,  with  merely  honourary  rank,  however,  the  two  .-.\al 
allies  of  Tezcuco  and  Tlacopan.  The  sovereign  was  selected  from 
the  brothers  of  the  deceased  prince,  or,  in  default  of  them,  liom 
his  nephews.  Thus  the  election  was  always  restricted  to  the  same 
family  The  candidate  preferred  must  have  distinguished  him- 
.self  in  war,  though,  as  in  llie  case  of  the  last  Montezumn."  ■  In 
other  words,  the  election  was  restricted  to  a  certain  gens.  >'oryan 
says  :  "  Xearly  all  .\merican  Indian  tribes  had  two  grades  of 
chiefs,  who  ma\'  be  distinguished  as  sachems  and  connnon  cliiefs. 
Of  these  two  primar\-  grades  all  other  gra'les  were  varieties. 
They  were  elected  in  eacli  gens  from  among  its  members.  .\  son 
could  not  be  chosen  to  succeed  his  father  when  descent  was  in  the 
female  line,  because  he  belonged  to  a  ilifferent  gens,  and  no  i^ens 
would  have  a  chief  or  sachem  from  anv  gens  but  its  own."  (  Mor- 
gan here  evidentlx'  forgot  the  right  of  adoptior  It  would  be 
perfecth'  regular,  shoidtl  a  gens  wish  to  clo  so,  to  adopt  a  .son  into 

'  Aiiluroloii'u.il  'foiir,  p   31,  ami  Idoliiotf,  \).  31. 
''  Conqu<st  0/ Mexico,  vol.  i.,  \).  23. 


Organisation  and   CiovL'rnmL'nt 


4-\S 


■;,  i 


^ 


the  gens  in  order  that  he  ini.^lit  succeed  his  father.)  "The  oflice 
of  sachem  was  here(iitar>-  in  llie  i;eiis,  in  the  sense  that  it  was 
fdled  as  often  as  a  vacancy  occurretl  ;  while  the  office  of  chief  was 
non-hereditary,  l)ecause  it  was  liestowed  in  reward  of  personal 
merit,  and  died  with  the  individual.  Moreover,  the  duties  of  :i 
sachem  were  confined  to  the  afTairs  of  peace.  He  could  not  t;()  oui 
to  war  as  a  sachem.  On  the  other  hand,  ilie  chiefs  who  were 
raised  to  office  for  personal  bravery,  for  wisd(>m  t)f  rifTairs,  or  for 
elo((uence  in  council,  were  usually  the  superior  class  in  r.hility, 
though  not  in  authority  over  the  gens.  The  relation  of  the  sachem 
was  primarily  to  the  gens,  of  which  lie  was  the  official  head,  while 
that  of  the  chief  was  jnimarilN-  to  the  tribe,  of  the  council  of  which 
he,  as  well  as  the  sachem,  were  mend)ers."  ' 

As  the  Inxjuois  league  was  such  an  important  affiiir,  and  as 
it  was  so  thoroughly  studied  by  Morgan,  I  will  cpiote  him  fiullier 
In-  giving  his  statement  of  the  main  points  in  the  organisatif)n. 

■■  I.  The  Confcilcracy  was  a  union  of  Five  Tribes  (afterwards 
.Six),  composed  of  common  gentes  under  one  government  on  the 
basis  of  cfjuality,  each  Tribe  remaining  inileiiendent  in  all  nuitters 
jiertaining  to  local  .self-govern metit. 

"  II.  It  created  a  (kneriil  Council  of  .Sachems,  who  were  lim- 
ited in  number,  e((ual  in  ra.ik  and  authoril\-,  and  invested  willi 
supreme  powers  owr  all  m.itlers  pertaining  to  the  Confederacy. 

III.  I'iftv  .Saehemships  were  created  and  named  in  perpeluit\- 
in  ceitain  gcutes  of  the  sev'eral  Tribc-s;  with  power  in  these  gentes 
to  fill  vacancies  as  otu-n  as  llic-\'  oci-urred,  i)\-  election  from  among 
lliL'ir  respective  members,  and  with  tliv  lurlher  power  to  depose 
from  offii-L'  for  (.'mum-  ;  but  tin.-  rii^lil  to  iii\tsi  these  .Sachems  with 
office  was  reserved  to  ihc  (ieiieral  Council. 

"  I\'.  The  .Sachems  of  the  Contederac\-  were  .also  .Sachems  in 
tluir  respi'ctive  Tribe>,  and  with  the  ChietV  oi' tlie>e  Tiibes  formed 
the  Cou;;cil  of  each,  which  was  supreme  o\cr  all  malieis  pert.iiii- 
ing  to  the  Tribe  exclusively. 

"  \'.  rnanimilx  in  the  Coimcil  of  the  ConiVderacv  wa-^  made 
essential  to  ever\-  public  nci. 

"  \'\.  In  tlU'  (lelleial  Council  the  .^ai-liems  \'oted  by  Tribe>«. 
which  ;..i:i\e  to  each  Tribe  a  negalix'c  upon  the  others. 

"  \'II.  The  Council  of  e.uli  'i'ribe  had  powir  to  iniuene  the 
General  Council;  but  tin-  latter  hml  no  power  to  convene  il.self. 

'  .liiiit'iif  SiHtt'i'w  \)\).  71,  72. 


I. 


I. 


'  I 


>  t 


\     I 


( 


f 


m 


I  .  S.  N  ,1.  Mu. 

ClirMMKSYAN    il  KAD-DKKSS    KV.rUl.SKN  I  iNC    TIIK   WHITE   OWL 

It  is  mule  iif  in.ij>le  ;  eyes,  tongue,  vye-<  rnimont  oti  wings,  ami  ornarneiit  at  base  of  tlio  wing» 
feathers  liilaii!  in  H.iliniis  sViell.  Wings  and  eyebniws  of  owl,  and  eyebrows,  eyes,  and  nnses 
of  the  surrounding  men  painted  black  ;  m.irgin  of  beak  and  body  of  the  owl  except  talons  and 
knees,  mouths,  arms,  an.l  legs  of  the  surrounding  men  and  the  broad  band  surrounding  the 
owl's  body,  painted  red,    6}^  in.  wide,  7,'j  in.  high.     In  ihe  American  Museum 


•  I) 


4'' 


426 


il 


Onjfanisation  and  Government 


4^7 


"  VIII.  The  General  Council  was  open  lo  the  orators  of  the 
people  for  the  discussion  of  pul:)lic  questions;  but  the  Council  alone 
decided. 

"  IX.  The  Confederacy  had  no  Chief  Kxecutive  Magistrate  or 
official  head. 

"  X.  Kxperiencing  the  necessity  for  a  General  Military  Com- 
mander, they  created  the  office  in  a  dual  form,  that  one  might 
neutralise  the  other.  The  two  principal  War-chiefs  created  were 
made  equal  in  powers."  ' 

Such  was  the  remarkable  construction  of  the  government  of 
these  Amerind  people  of  New  York.  In  its  conception,  in  its  de- 
tails, and  in  its  execution  it  was  one  of  the  most  extraordinary 
jMimitive  governments  ever  recorded.  From  a  comparatively 
weak  people  it  placed  the  Iroquois,  though  they  were  far  inferior 
in  numbers  to  surrounding  tribes,  in  a  commanding  position,  and 
enabled  them  to  extend  their  sway  over  a  vast  territory.  They 
made  no  attempt  to  hold  the  region  that  was  subject  to  their  de- 
vastation, but  probably,  had  not  the  European  appeared  on  the 
scene,  they  would  have  gradually  expanded  until  their  villages 
covered  many  times  the  area  which  they  specifically  claimed  when 
our  people  first  came.  An  increase  of  population  which  would  have 
overla.xed  the  game-supply  would  have  pushed  the  development 
of  their  agricidture  and  forced  the  confederacy  to  move  along 
higliL-r  and  broader  lines.  One  great  drawback  to  Amerindian 
progress,  internecine  wars,  was  entirely  oltliterated  by  the  masterly 
organisation  of  the  Iroquois  league,  while  at  the  same  time  they 
gained  by  their  union  a  strength  for  offence  and  defence  that,  to- 
gether with  their  fertile  and  well-watered  domain,  rendered  their 
organisation  impregnable.  This  and  the  Mexican  confederacy 
prove  that  the  Amerind  was  capable  of  great  things  in  govern- 
mental organisation.  It  only  reuiained  for  him  to  di.scover  tlie 
secrets  of  smelting  and  forging,  and  he  was  apparently  on  the 
brink  of  these  discoveries,  to  step  into  a  foremost  place  of  develoj)- 
ment  and  progress.  In  .some  respects  it  is  a  pity  the  Kuropeans  did 
not  remain  in  ignorance  of  this  continent  for  another  five  hundred 
years. 

^Houses  and  Housi'-Lifi\  p.  2S. 


■1  . 


I    ! 


r 


V  11 
i  I 

■  i 

;  V 
1      '• 


(      ': 


U.S.  Nat.  Mil. 

WOOIiK.N    "SKAl-"    DISH,  IIAIDA 


"i. 


II 


CHAPTKR  XVI 

ORir.IN,    MIGRATIONS,    AND   HISTORY  ' 

THR  niaiuier  in  whicli  America  was  originally  peopled  has 
been  the  can.se  of  con.siderable  speculation.  For  a  lon<j 
time  it  was  i^enerally  believed,  and  there  are  some  who 
still  hold  that  belief,  that  tliis  jKoplinj^  occurred  within  compara- 
tively recent  times  l)y  way  of  Herinj;  Strait,  and  that  before  that 
the  continent  was  not  inhabited.  Hut  peoples  do  not  willingly 
migrate  into  frozen  regions,  and  the  liering  .Strait  and  Alaska 
down  to  Dixon  ICntrance  were  not  many  centuries  ago  buried  un- 
der a  mantle  of  ice.  I  doubt  if  tliere  were  even  Ivskimo  in  Alaska 
fi\-e  hundred  years  back.  It  is  mv  lielief  that  all  the  tribes  of  the 
Xorth-west  migrated  there  from  the  South  and  .South-east,  and  \u>t 
within  recent  geologic  time  from  the  Asiiitic  direction. 

That  the  ontinent  was  entirely  peopled  l)y  way  of  Hering  .Strait 
within  the  last  thousand  years,  ])y  migrations  tlirough  a  zone  of  ice, 
is  improbable.  To  assume  tiiat  a  po])ulation  came  over  and  ])as->ed 
down  to  Mexico  and  Yucatan  and  even  .South  .\merica,  carr\- 
ing  with  them  their  arts,  but  not  exercising  them  on  this  iiiter- 
minable  journey,  is  ricHcadous.  Xo  i)otler\'  h.is  yet  been  '.'ound 
iK'tween  the  Yukon  and  the  Humboldt,  ir  e\'en  farther  south, 
prolxibly  !K'cau«ie  the  Ivskimo  learned  what  little  they  knew  dxnit 
it  wJtile  in  tlu  St.  Lawrence  \-alley  or  the  Atlantic  region,  and  the 
tril)esof  the  Xorth-wtst  coast  never  came  into  sufficiently  close  con- 
tact with  potters  to  learn  the  .art."    iMuthermore.  no  authentic  trace 

'  .Sfc  the  Pri'fiirc  of  tliis  hook,  ami  aKo  ravin's  //i  /ory  of  thr  .\Vr< 
V.'iirhi,  vol.  ii.,  whirli,  iiiiforluiiatily,  llic  author  did  not  have-  the  beiiclil  oi 
sev'iiij;  till  afti'f  this  hook  was  writtfii. 

'•'Ill  tliis  coiuuiliiiii  SVC  "  .Vrohieoloiiv  (U'  lliv  'i'houipsoii  River  Rv},'ioii, 
British  Coluiuhia,"  l.y  Harlan  I.  Smith,  Mcuuimof  tlu  Amrrican  Mus>cuui, 
vol.  ii.,  Mav,  11^.0.  The  Ivskimo  j)r()l>al)lv  entered  Alaska  aloiiyj;  the  l(),l^t 
Itxiin  till  v.isi. 

4'j.S 


Origin,   Mij^rations,  and   History 


429 


i  ! 


\     » 


of  any  Old- World  lanj^ua^e  thus  far  has  been  found  oti  this  couli- 
uent,  and  the  only  Asiatic  lanj;ua^e  now  known  to  be  allietl  to  an 
American  is  that  o{  a  branch  of  the  Ivskinio  family  which  crossed 
from  this  side  within  the  last  three  hundred  years.  The  Amerind 
lany;uajj^es  chanj^e  slowly.  An  immense  period  must  liave  elapsed 
since  their  separation  from  the  rest  of  the  world.  It  is  said  that  two 
Jai)anese  vessels  a  year  are  wrecked  on  our  California  coast,  and 
some  have  peopled  the  continent  from  this  source  ;  a  more  absurd 
theory  than  the  other.  The  mimber  of  Japanese  vessels  that  were 
afloat  a  thousand  years  aj^o  was  as  nothinj;  comi)ared  with  those 
afloat  to-da\',and  if  only  two  ]ier  anmun  are  wrecked  on  the.se  shores 
to-day,  the  wrecks  a  thousand  years  aj^o  did  not  add  m.iterially  to 
the  population.'  It  is  possible,  howe\'er,  that  a  few  persons  may 
have  reached  either  .seaboard  that  way,  and  like  Cabeza  de  \'aca, 
they  may  have  wandered  for  years  amonj;  the  various  tribes  as 
teachers  and  medicine-men,  j;ivinj;  rise  to  legends  of  "  white  and 
bearded  strangers. "  But  in  the  early  dajs  ve.ssels  were  frail  and 
did  nt>i  venture  far 
from  the  coast,  .so 
ihal  the  chances  of  ''«• 
bv  i  n  i^  driven  to  "^ 
American  shores 
williMut  f()Uii(K-rin<4 
werj  \'er_\'  slij.;lil. 
The  X  o  r  t  h  111  e  n 
made  ihi-  vo>'ai;e. 
liii\vv\  (.•r,andolliers 
uia\  h  a  \'  e  (Idmc 
il, 

1" 

Iri>li     and      Danus 

:iiL'    liardl\-   worths- 
Ill'  serious  coiisiiUr- 

:ilit>n,  aUhou^h  it  would  bi-  ra>li  to  (Kii\  tin-  possjhility  of  theii' 
lKi\in.i4  c-oine.  .\-^  lui  tin  Lost-Tribfsoi'  Israel  tlu'orv-.  011  wliicli 
Kinj^sboii  nii^h  wa'^  wncked.  no  airliaolo'^ist  of  todav  would  be 
willin;.4  l<>  .s^iv*.-  il  a  M-cund  tli(>Ui;ht.  .\  multitude  of  .stock  lauj.jua^i-', 
iliffrriui.;  from  i  ac-h  other,  \  rt  roiiniii'^  a  world- i.,M'oup  b\  tlicin^rl  .-fs, 

It  i-  of  ciiuisf   ]M)SMl)lr  (li:il  snim-  iiirii?,i(iii  'if  lilotnl  Oil  mild   in  tliis 
iiiauiH  I,  l)ul  it  is  not  liktly  lliiil  il  was  i-vt-r  >uirK'ifiU  lo  \\\\^r  .t  svliolr  -totk. 


'■4.       i'^^^C 

t,       \\i     the     sup-     ^^^/^^'Sii 
lo'^cd    \isils  ot   the     '*.    ^i-  ,ih'*''-^T^ 


!•>.. 


|ili"l  ii;r;i|ili  liv  I'li-  M  irriiii.iii  .\1  l^k  c  !■  xpnlitiuii,  i  ,,j 
1  I  INKI  I     >!   \I\II  U    t    \MI' 


■       '     . 


430  The  North-Americans  of  Yesterday 


hi  •  f 


are  found  here.  The  people  who  speak  them,  from  Panama  to  the 
Arctic,  are  in  their  habits,  customs,  and  physical  characteristics 
wonderfully  homogeneous,'  yet  they  appear  to  exhibit  several 
types  that  have  been  moulded  into  a  family  resemblance  by  some 
strange  circumstance.  Toward  Panama,  some  of  them  attained  a 
considerable  degree  of  progress,  but  these  were  not  of  one  special 
stock  but  of  diverse  stocks.  Farther  north  there  was  another 
group  attaining  to  a  less  but  a  similar  kind  of  progress,  and  they 
also  were,  and  are,  of  diverse  stocks.  In  the  Mississippi  valley 
are  evidences  of  another  similar  culture  group,  probably  also  of 
diverse  stocks  because  some  of  them  were  allied  to,  or  were  part  of, 
the  stocks  found  there  when  the  whites  came.  The  same  general 
conditions  prevailed  farther  east,  and  a  centre  of  development  was 
rapidly  forming  in  New  York  when  it  was  destroyed  by  our  com- 
ing. One  of  the  most  widespread  stocks,  the  Shoshonean  or  Uto- 
Aztecan,  is  composite,  containing  within  it  tribes  of  the  highest 
culture  and  tribes  of  the  least  culture,  tribes  that  were  peaceful 
and  tribes  that  were  warlike.  It  is  evident  then  that  culture  teas 
no  evidence  of  relationship  or  the  reverse  among  the  Amerind  peo- 
ple. By  some  powerful  influence  and  long  association  they  had, 
whatev^er  their  origin,  been  moulded  into  one  race.  "  Where  had 
they  come  from  ?  "  "  How  did  they  come  to  be  so  much  alike  ?  " 
"  Why  did  their  highest  development  take  place  down  by  the 
Isthmus  instead  of  by  the  Great  Lakes  or  in  the  fertile  valley  of 
the  Mississippi  ? ' '  These  are  pertinent  questions.  Attempts  have 
been  made  tn  answer  them  by  importing  different  people  from  dif- 
ferent parts  of  the  world  and  their  recent  culture  with  them.  But  the 
more  the  Amerinds  are  studied,  the  more  homogeneous  do  we  find 
them  and  the  more  isolated  from  Old- World  influences.  Culture,  as 
mentioned,  was  not  confined  to  one  stock  ;  it  permeated  through 
unrelated  stocks.  The  languages  too  are  totally  different  from  all 
otlicrs.  Thus  the  more  the  matter  is  investigated,  the  more 
closely  are  we  confined  to  the  Western  Hemisphere  for  the  origin 
of  the  Amerind  people,  as  wc  kno7v  them.  Toward  Panama,  that 
is  below  the  City  of  Mexico,  a  kind  of  civilisation  was  attained, 
and  there  we  find  was  the  ilensest  population  on  the  continent. 

'  "This  uiiifonuity  finds  oucof  its  explanations  in  the  geographical  features 
of  the  continent,  which  are  such  as  to  favour  migrations  in  longitude,  and 
thus  prevent  the  diversity  which  spcclul  conditions  of  latitude  tend  to  pro- 
duce."— Urinton,  Aynerican  Ract-,  p.  .||. 


N 


1 1    I 


Orij^in,   Migrations,  and   History 


431 


Culture  never  develops  in  a  game  country  with  a  sparse  popula- 
tion, and  there  is,  therelore,  an  intimate  connection  l)etween  a 
crowded  population  and  "culture"  or  "civilisation."  It  maybe 
broadly  asserted,  I  think,  that  civilisation  is  crowding  ;  it  is  man's 
effort  at  self-preservation.  Where  the  game-supply  is  exhausted 
or  insufficieut  aud  subsistence  must  be  wholly  or  K  rgely  wrested 


From  photograph  by  the  Harriman  Kxpedition,  iSgq 

KSKIMO    SlMMKR    CAMP,    I'DRT    CI  ARFNCK 

from  the  scil,  there  will  be  found  the  culture  centres,  the  hot- 
houses of  an  and  science,  from  which  a  filtration  occurs  into  all 
the  contiguous  regions  and  peoples.  On  this  continent  the  chief 
centre  of  cultvre  was  the  narrowest  part ;  the  population  was 
packed  there  as  in  the  narrow  end  of  a  funnel,  leaving  the  whole 
broad  top  thinly  peopled.  The  question  immediately  arises : 
"Why  was  this  so?"  It  is  evident  at  a  glance  that  there  was 
some  preponderating,  irresistible  influence  which  compelled  the 
inhabitants  to  draw  into  these  narrow,  restricted  regions,  there  to 
act  and  react  one  tribe  on  another,  and  this  influence  was  con- 
stantl}'  at  work  moulding  tb.em  all.  If  the  continent  had  been 
peopled  within  any  comparatively  recent  time,  it  is  not  reasonal)le 
to  suppose  that  the  tri1)es  would  willingly  have  huddled  together 
far  down  in  the  most  limited  area.  It  is  also  from  this  area  ap- 
parently that  all  the  arts  have  spread.  The  crowding  and  the 
culture  development  were  coincident.  What  was  the  cause  of  it  ? 
If  we  can  arrive  at  a  satisfactory  inulerstanding  of  the  cause,  it 
seems  to  me  that  we  have  the  solution  of  the  whole  matter.     The 


4:^2 


The   Nortli-Ainc'ricaiis  of  NCstcrday 


r 


explanalion  apix-ars  to  he  that  the  coiUitieiit  was  peopled  hefore  the 
he^iiiniii^  of  llie  j^lacial  epoeli,  and  the  crowding  into  the  iiariow 
re<;ioiis,  and  C{)iiset|Uetitly  the  development  of  culture  there,  wen- 
due  to  the  eucroachnieiit  from  the  north  of  the  ^reat  cold.  Wright 
sa\s:  "Just  hefore  the  hej^inniu^  of  the  ice  :ii;e,  a  temperate 
climate  corresponding  to  latitude  35  on  the  Atliintic  coast  ex- 
tended far  up  toward  the  north  pole,  pernutliiiK  (Ireetdand  ami 
Spil/hergen  to  he  covered  with  trees  and  plants  similar  in  most 
res])ccts  to  those  found  at  the  present  time  in  \'irginia  and  Norili 
Carolina.  Here  indeed  in  dose  pro.Kiniity  to  the  north  i)ole  were 
then  residiu};,  in  harmony  and  contentment,  the  ancestors  of 
m-arlv  all  the  plants  and  animals  which  are  now  found  in  the 
north  temperate  /one."  It  is  not  unreasonahle  to  suppose,  then, 
that  man  was  also  liere,  though  as  yet  the  scientific  evidence  is 
perhaps  not  sufhcient  to  i)rovc-  it.  If  he  circled  the  irlohe  in  the 
Northern  regiotjs  at  that  time,  and  wa.-.  also  occup>  inj;  Central 
portions,  the  cold  drove  all  south  and  to.gelher  with  changes 
of  land  levels  cut  off  the  American  division  from  theother  unrld.' 
Mii^ralion  legends  are  u.sekss  in  determining  the  origin  ol'  the 
Amerinds,  for  they  can  oidy  relate  to  the  conipanitiiily  nant 
chan^i^fs  of  location  hefore  which,  for  a  long  period,  the  people 
drifted  u])  and  down  and  across  tlie  continent  under  the  inlhiences 
I  lia\e  suggested.  Ilowexer  man  first  originated,  or  where,  he  was 
douhlless  distrihuled,  like  llie  tlora  and  fauna,  at  some  exceedini;ly 
remote  period,  over  the  whole  world,  1)\-  causes  not  now  understood, 
l)Ut  one  of  which  was  probal)l>'  a  greater  continuil}'  of  land  surfaces 
than  exists  to-day. "'  Some  of  the  earlier-world  ])eople  were  pos- 
sil)l\-  more  advanced  than  we  have  htvn  willing  to  concede,  and 
there  was.  from  a  verv  early  da\-,  a  diflVienliation  of  tribes.  Some 
w.re  making  respectable  weapons  and  tools  of  stone  while  others 
weie  using  clul)s.  Too  much  stress  has  been  placed  ujion  the  V.n- 
ropean  classification  of  stone  implements.  It  ma\'  exhibit  condi- 
tions that  existed  in  Ivurope,  but  il  lias  iiotliiui;  to  do  with  a 
standard  of  nieasuvenient  for  the  world.  When  .Moses  was  leading 
liis  (.iilightened  pcMple,  the  lunopean  was  a  jiainted  >a\age.     The 

'  St  L' also  "  ( )n  llu-  1 '<.•(. plin'^  ol'  Aiiurica,"  hy  .\iij;u-l  K.  C.roU',  /lii/htiii 
/>'ti/i''(i/(>  .Si'iitiv  ('/'  .Vti/iint/  S(!i>i(<\.  I-'rhiiiai  \  j,  iS77. 

Tin-  liii).ii'  of  resiiiitilaiui'  lutwecii  iiitaiii  .\iiuTinil  stocks  ami  lorfii,'!! 
•^loi'ks  tii(liirc>.  iVoiii  till'  |ire-.vlai'ial  perioii,  iheii,  wlu'ii  iiiti  icoiirsr  w.is  on 
(iifTrii'iil  lilies,  ami  doi-.  not  iiulicalr  any  latti  t  -^ay  ix'latioii'^liip. 


.n  .. 


J  i 


OriL^in,    Migrations,  anil    llislory 


433 


period  of  time  iti  wliicli  iii;iii  iisc-tl  stone  impletneiils  i^  ciiornious  ; 
that  in  which  lie  has  nsed  metal  tools,  comparatively  insij^nitKMiil. 
It  stands  to  reason,  therefore,  that  duriti);  this  long  u>e  ot"  sitine, 
tril)es  attained  to  varying;  degrees  of  cultnre.  atid  \ar\  ing  degrees 
ol  perleclion  in  stone  tools.  There  never  coul  1  have  been  a  single 
l)crii)d  of  lime  when  all  tribes  the  world  round  made  a  certain  (pial- 
it>'  of  implements,  then  another  period  when  lluy  all  made  other 
(pialit)-  of  implements.  Classification  of  tribes  and  races  in  a  time- 
scale,  or  even  in  a  culture  scale,  according  to  the  kind  of  stone  im- 
plements tlie\-  Used,  is  imiMKssible.  The  Pai  I'te  and  the  Inxpicis 
made  e(iiially  gooil  tools  in  the  seventeenth  century,  wliile  in  other 
laiuls  still  inferior  tribes  were  making  implements  about  as  good, 
and  others  were  struggling  on  with  poorer  one^.     At  the  lime  of 


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the  Aztec  confederacy,  their  stone  tools  were  not  greatly  superior 
to  those  of  the  Pai  Ute.  Therefore,  it  would  seem  that  any  re- 
senil)lance  between  so-called  American  "paleolithic"  implements 
and  modern  stone  implements  cannot  be  used  as  an  r  rguiiieiit  to 
disprove  the  age  of  the  former,  nor  that  a  polished  stjue  imple- 


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434  The   North-Americans  of  Yesterday 

iiient  found  in  a  supposed  ancient  gravel  is  necessarily  an  indica- 
tion of  intrusion  or  that  the  gravel  is  not  ancient.  The  imple- 
ments thus  far  found  in  the  California  auriferous  gravels  have 
been  similar  to  those  found  on  the  surface  to-da}-,  and  tli's  has 
been  held  by  some  to  be  a  suspicious  circumstance.  It  Is  not. 
Some  tribes  in  California  in  those  remote  times  were  probalMy 
making  stone  implements  quite  as  good  as  anything  made  to-tlay. 
Stone-working  is  not  capable  of  high  development.  The  range  is 
limited.  Some  tribes  compassed  it  early.  Because  also  we  do 
not  find  stone  implements  abundant  in  the  North-American 
glacial  drift  proves  nothing  concerning  man's  condition,  j^resence 
or  absence  on  the  continent  at  that  time.  The  population  ii'as 
almost  entirely  belozv  the  glacial  limit,  only  a  few  inferior  tribes 
skirting  its  southern  fringe.  We  should,  then,  expect  to  find  few 
northerly  pre-glacial  evidences,'  as  the  main  culture  development 
took  place  south  of  the  ice  line,  and  tribes  above  this  in  pre-glacial 
times  would  be  the  most  primitive. 

The  material  evidences  concerning  the  antiquity  of  man  in 
America  are  man}',  but  few  are  entirely  satisfactory.  The  '.'al- 
averas  skull  and  other  remains  in  the  auriferous  California  grav- 
els seem  to  place  him  here  as  early  as  the  Tertiary,  and  this,  says 
Holmes,'^  would  make  man  older  on  this  continent  than  anywhere 
else  in  the  world  according  to  present  evidence.  A  rudely 
chipped  arrow-head  has  also  been  found  in  another  region  under 
.some  elephant  bones.  A  primitive  hearth  was  discovered  in  well 
digging  in  an  old  beach  of  Lake  Ontario  which  dates  back  to  the 
glacial  time.  Many  specimens  of  stone  implements  have  been 
found  throughout  the  land  in  deposits  which  appear  to  be  of  great 
age.  There  is  always  the  question  of  modern  introduction 
through  burials,  overturned  trees,  etc.,  but  the  number  and  vary- 
ing positions  .seem  to  indicate  that  .some  of  these  tools  have  been 
found  in  their  original  places.  I  excavated  a  mound  in  southern 
Utah  from  the  depths  of  which  I  bnnight  out  an  exceedingly 
primitive  grinding-stone,  yet  not  a  single  stone  implement  of  any 


III 


Nil! 


'  These  tools  might  easily  be  quite  as  good  as  inauy  found  on  the  surface 
to-day,  and  it  would  he  difficult  to  distinguish  them  from  at  least  the  ruder 
forms  of  modern  implements. 

'^  W.  H.  Holmes,  "  Preliminary  Revision  of  the  Evidence  Relating  to 
Auriferous  Gravel  Man  in  California,"  American  Anthropologist ,  October, 
1899. 


\Wl\ 


Oriirin,    M  1^,^01110118,   and   History 


435 


other  kind  was  found.  The  grinding-stone  was  twenty  feet  below 
the  top  of  the  mound  and  ten  below  the  present  general  level 
of  the  surface.  The  mound  was  formed  of  many  layers  of  earth 
interspersed  with  thin  layers  of  charcoal  and  ashes.  All  around 
the  si«e  there  were  house  ruins  on  the  surface,  but  in  the  mound 
not  a  trace  of  a  building  stone  was  seen.  I  was  tokl  that  in  dig- 
ging a  well  not  far  from  this  locality  a  small  earthen  jug  of  an- 
tique type  was  found  about  thirty  feet  below  the  present  level.  I 
did  not  see  it  nor  even  the  man  who  found  it,  but  tlie  great 
abundance  of  such  finds  nuist  indicate  antiquity,  for  they  could 
not  all  be  fraudulent,  nor  all  recent  intrusions. 

The  cause  of  the  glacial  period  has  been  much  discussed.     It 
seems  to  have  been  largely  due  to  changes  in  land  levels,'  and 
to  other  causes  not  now  understood.     The  people  inhabiting  the 
world  before  it  may  have  been  originally  much  alike  in  kind  and 
colour  with  local  variations,  and  the  isolation  produced  by  glacial 
conditions  modified  this  colour  and  increased  the  variations,  those 
finally  left  in  hot  lands  becoming  darker,  medium  temperatures 
producing  brown,  still  cooler  the  reds  and  yellows,  and  the  forests 
of  Europe  evolving  a  shade  or  shadow  people,  shrinking  from  the 
strong  sun  ;  the  so-called  white  race.     The  glacial  epodi  is  often 
spoken  of  as  if  the  whole  world  were  frozen  solid,  whereas  in  North 
America,  from  the  Ohio  and  the  Columbia  to  the  Isthmus,  tlie  cli- 
mate was  doubtless  about  relatively  the  same  as  it  is  now  from 
Davis  Strait  to  the  Potomac  and  from  Yakutat  Bay  to  northern 
California.    The  ice  extended  down  about  to  the  Ohio  River  in  the 
East  and  on  lowlands  not  below  the  Columbia  in  the  West.     The 
Western  mountain  tops  must  have  been  completely  glaciated  and 
all  elevated  regions  were  cold,  the  conditions  prevailiui;  resembling 
those  now  found  in  Southern  Alaska.     The  Sierra  Xevadas,  re- 
ceiving the  warm,  moist  airs  from  the  Pacific,  must  have  been  far 
more  heavily   glaciated   than  ths  Rockies,    which   received    less 
moisture  in  consequence.     The  ice  period   is  estimated  to  linve 
endured  from  ten  to  twenty  thousand  years,  with  an  interval  of 
recession  in  it  and  subsequent  advance.     The  people  were  driven 
southward,   and    those    most  favourably   situated   developed  the 
most.    The  people  most  favourably  situated   were  all   7r//o  7rere 

'  An  elevation  of  the  ocean  bottom  in  the  Atlantic  tropical  regions 
would  probably  disturb  the  existing  climate  of  the  North  Atlantic  regions 
by  deflecting  the  warm  currents. 


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already  in,  or  could  fiprht  their  way  to,  the  temperate  lowlands  of 
southern  Mexico  and  Central  America, which  were  rendered  some- 
what more   extensive   by   the   recession   of   the   sea,    caused    by 
tlie  withdrawal  of  the   immense   quantities   of  water  that    were 
heaped  up  in  ice  thousands  of  feet  in  thickness.'     This  has  been 
estimated  to  have  lowered  the  waters  of  the  ocean  by  ^rom  600  to 
1000  feet.'     The  lands  thus  laid  bare  were  climatically  invilint,- 
and   probably   were   soon   covered   with    vegetation.      In  Soutii 
America  the  people  were  crowded  northward,  or  held  there  by  the 
cold  coming  from  the  south.     It  would  be  in  the  northern  portions, 
particularly  the  lowlands,  that  we  ought  to  find  evidence  of  the 
highest    devel- 
opment,  espec- 
ially on  the  side 
receiving  warm 
currents,    and 
there  is  where 
we   do  find  it. 
We  apparently 
have     then     a 
northern  and  a 
southern    limit 
to    the   ancient 
inhabitants    of 
this    he  m  i  - 
sphere,    within 
which   climatic 
conditions  dur- 
ing the  period 
of   great    cold, 
and    for    some 
time  thereafter, 

were  most  favourable  to  human  development.  This  limit  in  the 
Northern,  continent  is  latitude  23  and  in  the  Southern  also  23. 
Within  these  lines  the  great  precolumbian  development  took  place, 

*See  A  Naturalist  in  Alcara,iiua,  by  Thomas  Belt,  Chap.  XIV. 

*  Payne  believes  that  by  this  lowerinif  of  the  waters  combined  with  land 
elevation,  a  Miocene  land  passaj^e  was  formed  leadinj^  from  Asia  to  the 
North-west  coast  and  that  the  American  coutiueut  was  then  peopleJ  ''y  this 
route. 


I  r 


U.  S.  liu.  Kth. 

NKCKI.ACK  OK  DKIKI)  IlfMAN  KINGKRS  OliTAINKD  O.N  liATTLK- 
I'lKI.U  OK  WOrNUKD-KNKK  1;Y  CAI'TAIN  liolRKK 


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OriLrin, 


Migrations,  and    History 


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IX 


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and  the  heart  of  this  development  on  the  Northern  continent 
seems  to  have  rested  between  the  Isthmus  of  Tehuantepec  and  the 
present  upper  frontier  of  Honduras,  chieflj-  on  the  loudands,  and 
pn)l)a))ly  also  on  lands  now  beneath  the  ocean. 

In  North  America,  south  of  latitude  23,  then,  most  of  the  tribes 
of  the  continent  were  crowded  by  the  great  cold,  and  here  they 
developed  their  chief  characteristics,  so  that  by  the  time  the  ice 
began  its  last  recession  they  liad  become  a  homogeneous  people, 
with  the  greatest  advancement  and  the  greatest  similarities  in  tlie 
region  where  the  population  had  been  densest,  with  a  diminishing 
scale  outward,  those  tribes  farthest  from  the  culture  centre  varying 
most  from  the  highest  culture  attained.  The  tribe  on  the  extreme 
edge  was,  and  is  now,  represented  by  the  Kskimo.'  The  develop- 
ment and  the  distribution  of  the  arts  were  in  the  same  order,  and 
here  apparently  is  the  explanation  of  the  superior  excellence  of 
Central-American  arts,  and  the  .seeming  derivation  of  all  the  arts 
on  the  continent  from  this  centre.  Finally  the  recession  of  the  ice 
caused  renewed  trouble.  The  melting  of  it  and  the  return 
thereby  of  the  locked-up  waters  to  the  ocean  caused  a  submergence 
of  lowlands  that  had  been  made  habitable  by  their  withdrawal. 
There  were  floods  and  floods.  Triljes  were  overwhelmed  or  were 
driven  to  higher  ground.  There  was  a  renewed  shifting  of  popu- 
lations over  the  whole  continent.  Those  which  had  been  held 
back  toward  the  highlands  and  toward  the  ice,  accustomed  to  the 
cool  airs  and  to  a  particular  food,  readily  followed  tlie  retrogression 
of  the  ice,  impelled  always  by  pressure  of  the  tribes  farther  south. 
They  were  iiuired  to  cold.  The  most  southerly  tribes  ])ecame 
imired  somewhat  to  heat,  and  clung  to  their  lands,  impelled  also 
to  do  this  by  the  pressure  of  wilder  tribes  recoiling  from  contact 
with  still  other  tribes.  But  heat  being  debilitating,  and  especially 
so  to  the  Amerind  constitution,  the  Yucatec  peoples,  who  were  those 
who  had  attained  the  highest  development,  gradually  degenerated 
under  its  influence,  and  before  the  voyage  of  Columbus  whole 
cities  were  depopulated.  Some  held  their  own  for  a  longer  period, 
but  were  already  on  the  way  to  decline  when  the  vSpaniards  ap- 
peared. In  some  cases  their  towns  were  occupied  by  an  inferior 
tribe  of  perhaps  the  same  stock,  or  an  inferior  tribe  dwelt  around 

'See  also,  "Man  and  the  Glacial  Period  in  America,"  Payne's  History 
of  the  Neiu  World,  vol.  ii.,  p.  62  et  seg.,  and  discussiou  of  the  effects  of 
glaciation,  ibid.,  p.  348. 


J-. 


.1  i 


n  t 


440  The  North-Americans  of  Yesterday 

them  and,  not  knowing  the  origin  of  the  architectural  works,  at- 
tempted to  account  for  them  by  fairy  tales  like  the  legend  of  the 
D'lvarf^s  House,  wliich  vStephens  learned.     The  people  nearest  the 


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Harriman  Alaska  Expedition,  iSgg  Photographed  by  the  author 

riiOMAIlLE  ASPliCT    OF    ALASKA    SUMMKR   L.ANDSCAPE  SOMK  60O  YKAKS  AGO 

ice  front  are  still  represented  by  the  Kskimo,  and  their  next 
neighbours,  as  of  yore,  are  the  Athapascans,  and  Algonquins,  and 
so  on  down  in  zones  more  or  less  distinct,  but  considerably  deranged 
by  subsequent  migrations,  to  the  builders  of  the  Yucatec  ruins. 
The  Apaches  and  Navajos  are  usually  said  to  \\z.\Q.comc  doum  from 
their  kin  in  the  North,  but  it  is  equally  possible  that  they  remained 


('■ '. 


•y\ 


\       W 


Origin,    Migrations,   and   History 


441 


behind  in  the  high  mountains  while  their  kin  pushed  on.'  Tlie 
table4ands  of  Mexico,  being  high  ajul  temperate,  formed  a  final 
refuge  for  many  tribes,  some  of  whom  had  i)rofited  by  contact  with 
the  centre  of  development,  and  these  roamed  the  plateau,  one 
branch  finally  settling  around  the  lake  of  Mexico,  and  there 
planting  again  the  seeds  of  the  lowland  culture.  Many  tribes 
were  early  crowded  into  the  California  coast  region,  because  the  low- 
land climate  there  remained  comparatively  mild,  and  the  supply 
of  fish,  seals,  etc.  was  so  great  that  they  were  not  compelleil  to 
till  the  soil  for  subsistence  (if  indeed  they  were  possessed  of 
sufficient  knowledge,  or  if  the  land  were  in  condition  to  produce), 
as  was  the  case  farther  south,  where  the  population  was  denser 
and  natural  supplies  insufficient.  But  the  region  was  so  inhos- 
pitable that  only  fragments  of  these  tribes  survived.  They  did 
not  multiply. 

The  reason  the  Eastern  continents  produced  many  and  diverse 
peoples  is  that  the  glacial  period  temperate  zone,  or  warm  zone, 
extended  through  many  degrees  of  hugitiidc,  offering  extensive 
areas  of  settlement  to  the  races  in  that  hemisphere,  where  tlie>- 
remained  more  or  less  isolated  and  independent,  to  advance  in  their 
own  way  and  along  their  own  lines  ;  that  is,  on  the  Eastern  con- 
tinents there  was  ample  latitudinal  land  space,  while  on  the  West- 
ern there  was  a  very  limited  latitudinal  land  space  that  retained  a 
salubrious  climate.  This  was  the  cause  of  North  American  race 
homogeneity. 

The  period  of  time  that  has  elapsed  since  the  so-called  dis- 
appearance of  the  ice  was  formerly  believed  to  be  very  great,  but 
latterly  views  on  this  point  have  been  much  modified.  Gilbert  has 
declared,  after  a  study  of  the  Niagara  gorge,  that  the  time  since  the 
ice  left  that  region  is  not  more  than  seven  thousand  years,  perhaps 
less.  More  recent  investigations  have  tended  to  confirm  his  sug- 
gestion of  fewer  years.  Immediately  after  the  recession  of  glacial 
ice,  as  may  be  seen  in  Alaska  to-day,  erosion  is  extremely  rapid. 
I  have  not  space  to  discuss  this  point  at  length,  but  it  is  apparent 
that  the  rate  of  erosion  is  variable,  and  I  doubt  if  more  than  five 
thousand  years  have  passed  since  the  ice  left  the  vicinity  of  the 
Niagara  gorge.  As  it  still  lingers  in  the  North,  far  down  on  the 
Pacific  side,  it  is  probably  not  more  than  a  thousand  years  since  its 

■  "  When  first  met  with  the  Navajos  occupied  the  same  range  of  country 
they  nowiuhabit."— Bandelier,  Report,  part  i.,  p.  175. 


i 


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U.S.  Bu.  Eth. 

A   I'UEBLOAN   WARRIOR   OF   NAMBK,  NKW   MEXICO,    IN   HATTI.K   AKRAY 


I      ) 


C)ri_L,nn,   Mi<;r;itions,  and    History 


443 


hiJ/itiiircTi^as  pou;>fii/  ill  ajjutiiio;  the  climate  of  all  the  rc<^ion  soul/i- 
7caid.  The  North  is  undoiihlcdly  i^rowiiij;  wanner.  .Suiiic  five 
huiulrc'd  years  aj^o  Alaska  was  still  covered  with  glacial  ice. 
Five  hundred  years  from  now  there  will  scarcely  he  a  glacier 
to  be  found  there,  except  in  the  highest  mountains.  "The  next 
generation  will  find  few  of  them  with  their  fronts  still  in  the  ,sea," 
says  Henry  Gannett.' 

The  most  widely  spread  slocks  are  made  up  of  tho.se  that  were 
forced  to  occupy  a  middle  position  during  the  cold,  like  the  Algon- 
tpiiiis  and  Athapa.scans,  who  were  invigorated  by  it.  Other  .stocks, 
for  reasons  not  understood,  dwindled  to  mere  liandfuls  of  i)e()i)le, 
like  ihe  Karankawan,  now  extinct,  the  Adaizaii,  the  Natche/an, 
the  Uchean,  the  Zunian,  Keresan,  and  others.  The  oldest  people 
of  the  Valley  of  Mexico  mentioned  are  the  Xicalancas,  Olmecas, 
and  the  Toltecs.  lirinton  believed  the  latter  never  existed,  but 
other  authors,  fully  as  distinguished,  accept  them  as  a  hona-jidr 
tribe.  They  may  have  been  kindred  to  the  Nahuatls,  coming  from 
the  crowded  lov.dands,  as  the  waters  nj.se  and  the  heat  increased, 
and  occupying  the  cooler  plateau.  Their  wilder  relatives  later  be- 
came influenced  by  them  and  adopting  their  learning  began  the 
famous  development  in  the  \'alley  of  Mexico.  The  period  of  evo- 
lulicju  ill  the  crowded  region  was  very  long.  Tribes  rose  to  pow(  r 
and  declined."  Other  tribes,  profiting  by  their  experience,  took  up 
some  of  their  wa\\s  and  progre.s.sed.  Many  of  these  tribes  we  have 
no  remiui.scence  of. 

Back  of  the  Conquest  of  Mexico  by  Cortes,  the  thread  of  au- 
thentic history  becomes  most  uncertain.  It  begins  about  the  .sixth 
century.  Ixtlilxochitl.  the  native  Mexican,  has  written  a  good 
deal,  but  it  must  be  taken,  oftentimes,  with  extreme  caution. 
The  history  of  the  Amerind  race  is  written  mainly  by  their  con- 
querors. It  is  a  one-sided  affair,  and  even  .so  is  not  pleasant  read- 
ing. Balzac  says:  "Historians  are  privileged  liars,  who  lend 
their  pen  to  popular  beliefs."  Certainly  the  character  of  the 
Amerind  and  his  doings  have  not  often  been  too  charitably  drawn, 

'  National  Geographical  Magazine,  December  i,  1899,  p.  509. 

"^  "  That  there  was  a  primitive  empire  .  .  .  seems  to  some  minds 
confirmed  by  other  evidences  than  the  story  of  Votan  .  .  .  and  out  of 
this  empire  .  .  .  have  come,  as  .such  believers  say,  after  its  downfall, 
somewhere  near  the  Christian  era,  and  by  divergence,  the  j^reat  stocks  of 
people  called  Maya,  etc."— Winsor,  Nar.  and  Crit.  Hist.,  vol.  i.,  p.  134. 


-J, 


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•r 


444 


Tlic   North-. Xnicricans  of   N'cstcrdaN' 


wliilc,  on  llic  other  hinid,  otir  actions  toward  liini,  cvc-n  as  related 
l)y  ourselves,  are  en()U<;h  to  make  one  sometimes  doubt  tiie  l)ene- 
fits  of  civilisalioii.  Mor,i;an,  speakini;  of  the  remnant  of  ilie 
vSenecas,  sajs  :  "  To  embitter  their  sense  of  desolation  as  a  nation, 
the  pre-emptive  ri,i;lit  to  these  last  remnants  of  their  ancient  jio-,- 
sessions  is  now  held  by  a  company  of  land  speculators,  the  ()j4(kii 
Land  Companw  who,  to  wrest  away  these  few  acres,  have  pursudi 
and  hunted    them  for  the  last   fourteen  years  with  a  dei^ree   df 

wickedness  hardl>-  to  be 
paralleled  in  the  hisioiN- 
of  human  avarice.  Xnt 
only  have  every  principle 
of  honesty,  every  dictate 
of  humanity,  e\-er\-  Chris- 
tian precept  been  x'iolatcil 
l)y  this  company  in  their 
eajj^er  artifices  to  despoil 
tliCvSenecas;  butthedark- 
est  frauils,  thebasest brib- 
ery, and  the  most  exe- 
crable intrigues  wliidi 
soulless  avarice  could 
suggest,  have  been  prac- 
ti.sed  in  open  day  upon 
this  defenceless  and  much 
injured  people."  ' 

On    one    occasion    in 
1643,  out  of  a  spirit  of  re- 
venge for  a  murder  com- 
mitted by  an  Indian  who 
had   been    infuriated   by 
whisky,     but     whose 
friends,    accordinj^"   to 
Amerind  custom,  offered 
to  pay  a  blood  indemnity, 
Governor  Kieft,  heading 
a  band  of  soldiers  and  freebooters  from  Dutch  privateers,  fell  upon 
the  unsuspecting  Algonquins  and  slaughtered  over  a  hundred  of 
them.     Little  children  were  tossed  into  the  river,  and  the  parents 

'  League  of  the  Iroquois. 


u.  s.  ^^^t.  Mil. 

Al'ACUK   WOMAN   CARRVINC   WA  I  I  R    IN   A 
WICKKR   Uoril.K 


Oriniii,    Mi>;rati()iis,  aiul    llistor)- 


■\\5 


wlio  plunged  to  tlic  rescue  were  prevented  from  laiuliiip  by  the 
•snUliers,  and  eliihl  iiiul  parent  both  perislied.  In  tliis  incident  be- 
gan the  Dutch  and  Inchan  War,  wliich  lasted  two  years.  Can 
anyone  condemn  them  for  K<>>'ig  to  war  after  sucli  treatment  ? 

Acts  of  white  brutality  of  this  character  C(mld  be  (pioted  to  fill 
a  vohnne,  but  these  are  sufficient  to  inchcate  the  maimer  of  the 
]vurf)pcan  approach,  except  in  the  case  of  I'enn.  The  more  (h)cile 
the  Amerinds  were,  the  more  abuse  tliey  got.  If  they  became  self- 
supporting  like  tlie  Navajos,  the  government  gave  them  nothing  ; 
if  they  were  murderous  and  deadly,  like  the  Apaches,  the  govern- 
ment took  care  of  them  and  fed  them.  Issuing  rations  is  a  proper 
thing,  when  we  have  destroyed  the  native  means  of  subsistence, 
but  the  tribe  that  works  and  helps  itself  ought  to  be  aided  furtlier 
toward  civilisation  in  other  wMys.  One  of  the  most  stubl)orn  of 
the  numerous  Amerind  wars  was  the  »Seminole  in  the  ICverglades 
of  Floiida.  Our  whole  available  force  was  engaged  in  this  war, 
besides  .some  fifty  thou.sand  militia  and  volunteers.  Though  there 
were  probably  not  more  than  for-  !:undred  warriors,  the  cost  of  the 
war  was  over  }i';30,ooo,ooo,  and  throe  thousand  lives  were  sacri- 
ficed. The  wars  with  the  Apache;-,  were  long  and  difficult.  The 
Modocs  also  carried  on  a  di'  iistrous  war,  and  recently  the  Sioux 
took  their  turn.  The.se  wars  could  generally  have  been  averted 
by  proper  diplon^acy.  The  battbi  of  Wounded  Knee  was  precipi- 
tated l)y  a  wild  and  unauthorised  shot  at  a  critical  moment  by  one 
of  our  soldiers.  Had  he  remained  inactive  the  battle  would  prob- 
ably never  have  occurred.  Many  tribes  were  exterminated  at  an 
early  period.  Mo.st  of  the  Carolina  tribes  were  destroyed  between 
1714  and  1740.  To-day  very  few  Amerinds  exist  in  the  United 
States  east  of  the  Mi.s.sissippi.  Those  who  were  not  de.stroyed,  or 
who  are  not  still  living  on  lands  reserved  for  them,  are  mostly  west 
of  the  Mi.s.sissippi,  either  on  lands  belonging  to  them  in  the  Indian 
Territory,  or  on  scattered  reservations.  Tribes  in  Indian  Terri- 
tory have  long  conducted  a  .sort  of  civili.sed  government,  but  some 
of  them  are  now  on  the  eve  of  .selling  their  lai.ds  and  purchas- 
ing broader  tracts  with  the  funds  obtained,  in  Mexico.  The 
Navajos  are  in  possession  of  an  enormous  area  lying  across  the  line 
of  Arizona  and  New  Mexico,  and  their  vast  herds  of  sheep,  cattle, 
and  horses  require  extensive  grazing,  .so  that  it  will  be  inipo.ssible 
to  reduce  the  area  allotted  to  them,  especially  as  the  tribe  is 
steadily  increasing  in  numbers.    Schools  of  mechanic  arts  should 


ri  il 


i^r 


^M 


i 


I 


L_ 


446 


>\ 


Origin,    Miorations,   iind    ilistory 


447 


speedily  be  established  among  them,  in  order  that  vvlieii  they 
eventually  are  obliged  to  look  to  other  avenues  of  support  than 
stock-raising,  they  can  do  work  that  will  command  a  price.  It 
makes  not  the  slightest  difference  whether  or  not  they  are  able  to 
read  English,  if  they  have  wares  to  sell  that  white  people  need  and 
want,  and  the  Navajo  is  capable  of  great  development  on  the 
mechanical  side.  They  will  learn  English  when  necessity  requires 
it.  The  Mokis  have  a  reservation 
adjoining  the  Xavajos,  and  it  is 
ample  for  them  for  all  time,  as 
they  are  not  increasing,  and  their 
herds  of  sheep  are  small. 

In  the  West  the  lii.'*^ory  of  the 
Amerind  is  linked  mainly  with 
that  of  but  two  other  races,  the 
Spanish  and  the  Anglo-vSaxon, 
while  in  the  East  it  is  intimately 
bound  up  with  the  wars  and  his- 
tory of  the  Dutch  and  French  as 
well.  All  the  struggles  of  tliese 
European  races  for  supremacy 
affected  the  Amerind,  and  in  the 
East  he  is  found  sometimes  on 
one  side,  sometimes  on  another. 
He  did  not  for  some  time  discover 
that  his  doom  was  in  tlie  Euro- 
pean regardless  of  kind.  At  first, 
too,  the  Amerind  extended  the 
law  of  hospitality  to  the  new- 
comers, and  the  Europeans  would  have  starved  to  death  in  some 
in.stances  had  it  not  been  for  the  timely  aid  of  tlie  race  in  possession 
of  the  .soil,  and  whose  reward  was  subsequent  destruction.  The 
Amerinds  at  last  tried  to  combine,  as  in  the  conspiracy  of  Pontiac, 
against  their  increasing  foe,  and  had  they  been  able  to  throw  aside 
some  of  their  peculiar  regulations  and  form  a  wide-spreading  and 

'  For  infortr.ation  on  tlie  Aineriiulinn  wars,  their  elTorts  to  pre?',erve  their 
territory,  etc.,  see  llancroiVs  His/o/y  o/  f/tr  L'liitcd  States;  Wiiisor's  Xar- 
rativc  and  Critical  History  of  the  United  States;  Winsor'.s  other  works  ; 
Parkinaii,  John  Fiske  ;  and  uuuierous  other  books  to  be  found  in  any  good 
library. 


PI.  LXI.— Secind  .-Viin.  V.  S.  Rii,  Eth. 

SIIKI.L    SI'IDKR  CuRiaCIS 

From  mounds  in  Missouri,  Illinois, 
and  Tennessctj 


i-- 


rib 


r 


L.  S.  Nat.  Mu. 


HLACK   HAWK 
The  great  central  figure  in  the  Black  Hawk  War,  1832 


44^ 


George  Catlin 


)V 


Origin, 


Migrations,  and   Histor)- 


449 


)rge  Catlin 


close  confederacy,  they  could  have  compelled  the  Kiiropeans  to  halt 
on  the  Atlantic  slopes  of  the  Appalachian  chain  for  a  long  period. 
"  In  our  ignorance, "  says  Simon  Pokagon,  chief  of  the  Pokagon 
Pottawatomies,  "  we  did  not  comprehend  the  mighty  ocean  of  hu- 
manity that  lay  back  of  the  advance  waves  of  pioneer  settlement. 
But  being  fired  by  as  noble  patriotism  as  ever  burned  in  the  hearts 
of  mortals,  we  tried  to  beat  back  the  reckless  white  man  who  dared 
to  settle  within  our  borders  —  and  vast  armies  were  sent  out  to  pun- 
ish us.  We  fought  most  heroically  against  overpowering  luimbers 
for  home  and  native  land  ;  sometimes  victory  was  ours,  as  when, 
during  the  last  decade  of  the  eighteenth  century,  after  having 
many  warriors  killed,  and  our  villages  burned  to  the  ground,  our 
fathers  arose  in  their  might,  putting  to  flight  the  alien  armies  of 
Generals  Harmer  and  St.  Clair,  hurling  them  in  disorder  from  the 
wilderness  across  our  borders  into  their  own  ill-gotten  domain."  ' 
But  the  whites  who  had  already  come  to  America,  however 
nuicli  the}'  might  have  desired  to  leave  the  Amerinds  alone,  were 
powerless  to  prevent  other  whites,  in  search  of  better  fortunes, 
from  dispossessing  them,  and  so  impelled  b}'  the  pressure  of  Euro- 
pean population,  numbers  came  and  numbers  came  again  and 
again,  and  yet  still  others  behind  them.  The  result,  the  final 
result,  was  inevitable.  The  Amerind  was  doomed  when  Colum- 
bus first  saw  the  Western  land,  and  nothing  that  the  Amerind 
could  have  done  would  have  greatly  changed  the  final  course  of 
events.  Tecumseh  made  an  heroic  effort  to  unite  his  people  in  a 
stubborn  stand  against  the  enemy,  but  the  difficulty  was  that 
there  were  not  enough  Tecumsehs.  The  powerful  league  of  the 
Iroquois,  that  once  promised  to  dominate  the  whole  continent, 
began  its  decline  with  the  very  first  intercourse  with  the  luiro- 
jK-ans,  so  that  in  1750  they  were  alx.ut  half  their  former  number. 
The  league  was  probably  formed  al)out  the  middle  of  the  six- 
teenth century,  and  in  these  two  hinidred  years  they  reached  their 
highest  power  and  were  on  the  wane.  As  it  must  have  taken 
them  some  time  to  reach  the  point  where  they  could  form  sucli  a 
b()(l\-  as  the  league,  the\-  must  have  been  a  powerful  and  pro- 
gressive people  at  least  a  hundred  years  befi)re,  so  that  their  main 
existence  as  a  progressive  people  probably  covered  a  period  of 
some  three  hundred  years  if  not  more.  Had  they  not  been 
wrecked  by  contact  with  luiropeans,  it  is  safe  to  assume  that  they 
'  Harper' s  Miii^azinc,  March,  1899,  p.  649. 


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Origan,   JNIiirrations,  and  History  451 

would  have  advanced  to  double  their  power,  at  least,  in  another 
century.  They  destroyed  the  Siouan  tribes  of  the  Kast,  held  the 
Lenapc  in  subjection,  and  terrorised  the  Algonquins  as  far  as  the 
bnnks  of  the  Mississippi. 

King  Philip,  Red  Jacket,  Pontiac,  Black  Hawk,  and  many 
other  Amerinds  distinguished  themselves  as  men  of  wide  capacity, 
and  in  our  later  day  may  be  mentioned  the  famous  vSitting  Bnlli 
whose  sagacity,  intelligence,  and  military  skill  were  of^an  ex- 
tremely high  order.  He  gave  us  much  trouble,  to  be  sure,  but 
if  all  is  fair  in  war.  Sitting  Bull  deserves  great  praise  for  his  ability. 

In  war  the  Amerinds  were  given  to  killing  all  they  could,  but 
as  this  is  the  business  of  war,  and  as  white  armies  use  weapons 


American  Museum 


MUSICAL  BOW  OF  THE  SOUTIIKRN  TKPKIIUANKS  AND  THE  AZTECS,  MEXICO 
The  sounding-board  is  a  gourd  with  a  hole  in  it.  The  other  end  of  the  brace  attached  to  the  bow 
rests  on  a  stone.  The  cord  of  the  bow  was  struck  by  a  stick  to  produce  the  desired  noise. 
Found  by  Lumholtz  in  use.  Length  of  bow,  i  metre  36.5  centimetres.  See  pa,t;e  308  ;  and  also 
article  on  "Geographical  Distribution  of  the  Musical  How"  by  O.  T.  M.ason,  Ameykan 
Anthropologist,  November,  1897;  ^.'attoal  History  of  the  Musical  Bov.\  by  Henry  Halfour  ; 
and  "Symbolism  of  the  Huichol  Indians,"  by  Carl  Lumholtz,  Memoirs  of  the  Aiiu-rican 
Museum,  vol.  iii,  pages  206,  207 

that  are  also  meant  to  kill,  and  seem  to  try  to  do  killing  in  battle, 
we  cannot  be  too  hard  on  the  Amerind  warrior  if  he  did  not  always 
do  his  killing  exactly  in  the  way  we  do  it.  "  Murder  as  a  fine 
art ' '  was  not  one  of  his  .studies.  He  killed  and  we  kill ;  where  is 
the  difference  ?  Wars  may  be  necessary  ;  I  think  they  sometimes 
are  ;  so  did  the  Amerind. 

Lc'ig  before  any  pern;anent  settlers  pushed  to  the  wilderness, 
adventurous  traders  penetrated  to  remote  regions  with  the  whisky 
keg,  and  as  they  seldom  expected  to  go  to  the  same  place  twice,  they 
usually  swindled  the  native  outrageously.  Many  of  these  were 
Frenchmen,  and  they  were  given  tlie  name  of  Coureurs  dii  Bois. 
There  were  also  always  certain  outlaws  who  found  safety  in  put 


* «,  I 


I  "i 


U.  tj.  Nat.  Mu. 

GENERAL   TYPli    OK   CUIMMKSYAN,  HAIDA,    AM)    TI.INKir    ClllKl's   COSTLMK, 

NOKTII-WKSr    LDASl 

The  Chilkut  blanket  which  this  man  has  over  his  shoulders  "  is  so  called  because  the  best  s\)camcu< 
conic  from  the  Chilkat  country,"  says  Nihlack.  All  the  North-west  coast  tribes  use  it.  1  li^' 
warp  is  cedar  bark  twine  and  the  woof  a  yarn  made  of  mountain-goat  wool.    See  pai;es  128,  14-- 

452 


Orio-in,   iMiu-rations,  and   History  453 

ting  a  great   distance  between  themselves  and  tlie  law       These 
classes  were  more  apt  to  stir  the  native  up  against  the  Knropean 
than  to  render  intercourse  easy,  and  often,  in  earlv  times  as  well 
as  in  our  day,  they  incited  the  Amerinds  to  war  for  the  sake  of 
their  own  gains.     But  it  was  the  coming  of  actual  settlers  which 
caused  the  greatest  trouble.     They  appro  )riated  the  soil    killed 
the  game,  and  otherwise  interfered  with  rights  which  tlie  tribe 
concerned  had  for  centuries,  perhaps,  regarded  as  theirs  alone      In 
the  case  of  the  Hudson  ]]ay  Company,  it  being  well  understood 
that  they  occupied  certain  points  merelv   for  trade,  ik,  trouble 
was    ever    experienced.      For    two   hundred    years  //uS  eompany 


u.  s.  nil.  Kth. 

PERFORATED   niSCOn).\L    STCNF,,    ILM.Nols 

traded  all  over  the  northern  part  of  the  eontinent  without  a  seri- 
ous  nipture  with  any  tribe!  Each  tribe  held  its  own  lands 
as  before,  so  far  as  the  company  was  concerned,  hence  there  was 
no  clashing  ;  but  with  settlers  taking  up  choice  places  it  becomes 
another  matter. 

The  stories  of  Cabe^a  de  Vaca,  Soto,  Cortes,  Coronado.  John 
Smith,  La  Salle,  Tonti,  Joliet.  Lewis  and  Clark,  Fremont  and 
many  others  are  valuable,  not  only  for  the  adventures  contained  in 
them  and  the  descriptions  of  new  countrv,  but  because  of  the 
descriptions  of  Amerinds  as  they  existed  in  the  beginnino-  Our 
understanding  of  the  routes  of  some  of  these  explorers"  is  not 
always  strictly  accurate,  and  the  accuracy  of  the  route  has  much 
to  do  with  our  properly  placing  geographically  the  Amerinds 
named  therein.     There  are  grave  discrepancies  in  the  tracin-  of 


msf. 


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HOBOHO,    THE  FIRE   KATCINA  IN  THE   SOMAIKOLI   CEREMONY,    CICHUMOVI,    1 884 

From  a  drawing  by  the  author,  after  one  of  his  photographs.     The  mask  enclosed  the 
whole  head,  and  was  of  cloth,  stained  green,  with  globular  eyes  attached 


454 


\  \ 


Orii^in,  Mij^^nitions,  and   liistory 


45. 


110^% 


Ivi,  18S4 

Id  the 


that  of  Coronado,  for  example.    In  another  place  I  have  presented 
my  views  on  this  subject' 

As  there  were  outlaws  amonj:^  the  whites,  so  too  there  were 
outlaws  among  the  Amerinds.  These  were  men  from  various 
tribes  who  liad  connnitted  crimes  and  escaped  the  punishment  tliey 
should  have  received  according  to  the  law  of  their  jK-ople,  and 
coming  together  they  sometimes  formed  a  band  by  themselves  in 
some  strong 
and  isolated  po- 
.sition.  A  good 
example  of 
such  a  band  of 
renegades  was 
that  of  one  Pat- 
nisli  in  south- 
ea.itern  Utah 
nearthe  Navajo 
mountain.  It 
was  compo.sed 
of  outlaws  from 
the  surround- 
ing tribes, 
chiefly  Utes 
and  Navajos, 
andwas  the  ter- 
ror of  the  coun- 
try, though  in 
1872.  when  I 
first  knew  of  it, 

nothing  in  the  waj'of  serious  depredation  had  been  attempted  for  sev- 
eral j-ears.  The  Mormons  of  southern  Utah  looked  upon  Patnish  as 
a  dangerous  man,  yet  he  sometimes  came  to  their  frontier  villages  in 
a  peaceful  way.  He  had  three  or  four  stalwart  sons  who  usually 
accompanied  him  in  his  travels,  and  they  were  always  ready  for 
emergencies.  The  band  wore  the  Navajo  dress  and,  I  understood, 
preferred  to  be  considered  Navajos.  Beckwourth  mentions  a  rene- 
gade band  of  this  sort  in  his  time,  a  village  "composed  of  out- 
law.5  from  all  the  surrounding  tribes,  who  were  expelled  from  their 

'  "The  True  Route  of  Corouado's  March,"  Bulletin  0/  American  Geo- 
graphical Society,  December,  1897. 


Photographed  by  the  author 

CIRCI.K  OV  DANCI'.RS  IN  IIIIC  INTERVALS  ISKIW K.F.N  THE 
AI'I'l'.ARANCIiS  OK  TIIK  VARIOl  .S  KAICINAS  IN  THE 
MOKI     SOMAIKOI.l    CKRKMONY,    flCIIlMdVI,    ARIZONA, 

1SS4 


f 


■III 


i 


a 


1 

■A     ; 


I  [,!l 


1^  .;if 


H' 


456 


Tlic   North-Ar.uM-icans  of   ^-jstcrda)- 


various  coinmuuities  for  sundry  infractions  of  their  rud'j  cri'.ninal 
co(1l-  ;  they  had  acciuired  a  hard  name  for  tlieir  cruelties  and 
excesses,  and  many  white  trailers  were  known  to  liave  been  killed 
by  them.  .  .  .  The  village  numberjil  three  hundred  lodoes, 
and  could  bring  from  twelve  to  fifteen  hundred  warriors  into  tliL- 
field.  .  .  .  We  called  it  the  City  of  Refuge.'"  He  speaks  of 
them  as  Cheyennes,  l)nt  I  suppose  they  were  Cheyennes  in  ll'.e 
same  way  that  Patnish's  band  were  Navajos ;  Ix'cause  they 
preferred  to  be  called  so. 

These  outlaws  often  caused  trouble  between  the  better  class  of 
Amerinds  and  the  whites,  because,  especially  in  the  earlier  days, 
an  "Indian"  was  an  "Indian"  always  and  everywhere,  and  a 
crime  of  the  outlaws  or  others  was  revenged  upon  thenrst  "  Indian" 
that  was  met  with.  There  never  was  any  inquir\-  to  find  out  if  lie 
committed  the  crime  ;  he  was  generally  shot  on  sight.  Innocence 
was  a  quality  never  tlunight  of  in  dealing  with  "  Indians."  By 
reason  of  their  birth,  they  were  all  guilty  of  any  crime  perpetrated. 

But  I  have  already  exceeded  the  limits  prescril)ed  for  this 
book.  In  concluding,  I  would  say  that  it  seems  from  all  the 
evidence  available  that  this  continent  was  peopled  at  a  period 
so  remote  that  other  races  had  not  yet  developetl  their  present 
characteristics.  This  was  probably  before  the  glacial  epoch 
began,  while  the  Northern  climate  was  mild,  and  while  land 
surfaces  were  distributed  more  on  latitudinal  lines,  separated  by 
narrower  waters.  Afterwards  there  was  a  rearrangement  by  the 
forces  of  nature,  which,  together  with  the  extreme  cold  of  the 
North,  effectually  separated  the  Amerinds  from  other  peoples,  and 
caused  them  to  mingle  and  react  on  each  other  till  even  the  affini- 
ties which  had  before  developed  in  different  localities  and  had  pro- 
duced some  differentiation  of  types  were  almost  rubbed  out  and 
remain  to-day  only  as  tinges  of  the  earlier  qualities.  The  other 
world  tribes,  subjected  to  other  influences,  have  developed  other 
differences  and  have  diverged  from  their  original  stocks.  It  is 
also  probable  that  in  the  redistribution  of  land  surfaces  and  rear- 
rangement of  land  levels,  many  stocks,  some  highly  developed, 
were  obliterated.  Slight  modifications  may  have  occurred  through 
later  accidental  intrusions  from  the  Eastern  Hemisphere,  but  if 
there  had  been  any  considerable  intercourse  within  a  recent  period 

■  Li/e  and  Adventures,  p.  438. 


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458  The   North-Am(!ricans  of  Yesterday 

between  outside  peoples  and  the  Amerinds  we  should  have  found 
distinct  traces  of  it  in  the  writings  of  early  days.  People  as  dificr-. 
ent  and  extraordinary  as  the  Amerinds  were  would  have  produced 
a  vivid  impression  on  any  who  might  have  .'•,ecn  them  and  contrari- 
wise a  European,  for  example,  would  have  left  a  lasting  impression. 
On  the  extreme  North-west  coast  there  seems  to  be  a  type  re- 
vSemblance  to  Asiatics,  but  this  is  more  likelj'  due  to  an  extremely 
early  colouring  which  was  preserved  by  special  isolation  on  this 
continent,  rather  than  to  any  considerable  infusion  of  Asiatic  blood 
in  recent  time.  As  before  remarked,  I  am  of  the  opinion  that  the 
Alaska  and  North-west  coast  tribes  reached  those  regions  from 
the  South  and  South-east  in  comparatively  late  times.'  Tak- 
ing a  broad  view  of  the  question,  it  seems  to  be  an  inevitable 
conclusion  that  the  Amerind  race,  or  rather  i/ie  various  races  of 
ivlnch  it  xvas  originally  composed^  were  early  cut  off  on  this  hem- 
isphere from  intercourse  with  the  remainder  of  the  world,  and  held 
in  isolation  by  a  change  in  land  distribution  and  by  the  continued 
glaciation  of  the  northern  portions  of  the  continent  which  in  a 
measure  endures  to  this  day.  The  climate  of  North-eastern  Siberia 
was  also  glacial  and  prevented  migrations  from  milder  regions. 
Many  eminent  archaeologists  agree  that  the  Amerind  was  here 
before  the  great  cold  moved  down,  although  the  evidence  of 
implements  and  remains  as  we  now  understand  them  is,  perhaps,  in- 
sufficient. Languages,  traits,  customs,  and  arts  are  also  to  be  con- 
sidered, and  they  seem  all  to  favour,  as  outlined  above,  the  theory 
of  an  exceedingly  remote  peopling  of  this  continent  from  -"arious 
directions.  But  this  slight  attempt  to  outline  vast  raov^*"  .  ■.  must 
be  brought  to  a  close.  To  sum  briefly  up,  then,  it  seems  tnat  the 
Amerindian  race,  while  originally  composed  of  different  elements, 
was,  as  a  body,  separated  from  the  other  peoples  of  the  world,  ^.t 
a  remote  epoch,  and  by  peculiar  climatic  and  geographic  influences, 
welded  into  an  ethnic  unity,  which  was  unimpressed  by  outside 
influences  till  modern  times. 


Note.— For  an  excellent  rhumS  of  facts  on  "  The  Prehistoric  Archaeology 
of  North  America,"  see  the  article  by  Henry  W.  Haynes,  p.  329,  Winsor's 
Narrative  and  Critical  History  of  the  United  States,  vol.  i. ;  also  "The 

'  Bering  found  no  inhabitants  on  the  Aleutian  islands  and  his  visit  of 
discovery  was  recent — 1741. 


OnViii,   MiL^nitions,  and   History 


459 


Progress  of  Opinioti  Rcspi'ctiii«  the  Origin  and  Anti(|uity  of  Man  in 
America,"  by  Justin  H'insor,  ihU.,  p.  369;  also  the  "Critical  Kssav  on 
Sources  of  Information,"  p.  316  ;  and  for  pre-Columbian  explorations  see 
p.  -Jf^;  and.  The  ruudamental  Priudples  at  l>Ui and  Xii^<  WoiUiCiiil- 
isalions,  hy  Mrs.  Zelia  Nuttall,  Pealwly  iMuscum. 


American  Museum  Harlan  I.  Smith 

A  COSTUMED  HUMAN  FIGURE  FROM  TAMPICO,  WASHINGTON 

\i  natural  size. 

The  material  is  antler.  Found  in  a  stone  cist  somewhat  resembling  the  stone  graves  of 
Kentucky  and  Ohio,  but  covered  hy  .-i  heap  of  jagged  basaltic  rocks  about  8  feet  in  diameter. 
The  skeleton  of  a  child  was  found  in  thv  cist.  The  antler  fiuureis  247  mm.  long  and  from  2  to 
5  mm.  thick.  The  front  is  engraved  as  shewn  above.  The  back  is  pLiin.  See  paper  on  this  sub- 
ject b\-  Harl.ui  I.  Smith.  —  BiilUtin  A»i,>icaii  Mi.sfum,  vol.  .\.x,  pp.  195-203 


^J. 


¥^'^ 


mi-' 


T 


\:y 


American  Museum.  Marshall  H.  SavUle 

ENTRANCE  OF  A  TOMB  AT  CUILAPA,  MEXICO 

It  was  around  the  entrances  of    such   tombs  as  this  that  the  terra-cotta  funeral  urns  were  fruMid, 
shown  on  pp.    xii,  xxviii,  115.      They  were  usually  in  series  of  five  with  nothing  in  them. 


m. 


400 


n 


U.  S.  Bu.  Eth 


STICK    USKl)   IN   THK   AWL   GAME 


APPENDIX  ' 

J^  LIST  of  the  principal  stocks  or  families,  tribes,  and  many  sub-tribes  of 
the  North  American  Amerinds,  based  on  the  linguistic  classification 
of  the  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  as  given  in  the  ScvefM  Annual  Report  ; 
on  Brmton's  classification  in  his  The  American  Race,  on  Mason's  "Lin- 
guistic Families  of  Mexico, "  in  the  American  Anthropologist,  N.  S.,  vol.  ii., 
No.  I  ;  \\\  Mexico,  Washington,  1900,  Bureau  of  American  Republics  ;  Dall's 
Tribes  of  the  Extreme  Northwest,  Contributions  to  Xorth  American  Eth- 
nology, vol.  i.  ;  James  Mooney's  Siouan  Tribes  of  the  East ;  and  on  li^ts 
m  the  Bibliographies  of  James  C.  Pilling,  with  tribal  names  from  other 
sources. 


iville 


t'lid, 


List  of  Stocks  and  Sub-Stocks' 

The  abbreviations  are  the  ones  used  in  the  alphabetical  list  of  tribes 
By  referring  back  from  that  list  to  this,  the  linguistic  affinity  and  general 
geographical  location  of  a  tribe  may  be  determined.  The  author  has  added 
the  term  "  Hopitan  "  as  a  sub-stock  of  the  Shoshonean  to  designate  the 
group  of  Hopi  tribes,  which,  while  showing  strong  linguistic  affinitv,  are 
otherwise,  like  the  Piiian  and  Nahuatlan,  so  markedly  separated  in  habits 
from  the  true  Shoshonean  stock  that  an  individual  classification  for  them 
seems  desirable.  As  the  Hopitan  are  ranked  as  Shoshonean  in  the 
general  scheme  the  harmony  of  the  classification  is  not  interfered  with. 
PUEBLOAN  is  also  given  as  a  comprehensive  descriptive  term  for  all  the 
permanent  house-building  tribes,  regardless  of  linguistic  affinities,  or 
ancient  or  modern  existence.  This  is  necessary  because  it  is  not  possible  to 
assign  a  linguistic  place  to  the  former  occupants  of  ruins  like  those  of  the 
Chaco,  yet  it  is  settled  that  they  were  of  a  kind  with  the  other  town  builders. 
Thus.  also,  the  Cliff-dwellers  may  be  conveniently  classed  under  this  head. 
Tusa\an  and  Ciljola,  as  applied  respectively  to  the  Hopitan  and  the 
ZUNIAN,  shculd  never  be  used,  for  the  reason  that  it  is  not  certain  that  these 
are  the  places  that  were  so  designated  by  Coronado  in  1540.  The  autlior 
believes  they  were  not  seen  by  Coronado.  ■  It  is  in  the  interest  of  accuracy 
to  avoid  these  unnecessary  designations,  which  confuse  ethnological  and 
geographical  matters. 

'  The  thanks  of  the  author  are  due  to  Prof.  Otis  Tufto.i  Mason,  of  the  fnited  States 
National  :\Uiseuin,  for  kindly  reviewing  this  appendl.v  in  proof  Prof  Mason  writes 
"  Your  work  has  my  approval  and  it  is  well  done.  " 

=  See  map,  page  33  this  book,  and  also  the  original  of  it  in  the  Srzenth  Ann    h'rhl 
Bit.  i:tli.  ' 

'  See  ■  The  True  Route  of  Coronado's  March,'  by  V .  S.  Dellenbaugh,  in  the  IhiUetin 
oj  the  Anirykan  Geographical  Society,  December,  1897. 

461 


462  The  North-Americans  of  Yesterday 


'  % ' 


n 


Ada.    Adaizan.     Western  Louisiana. 

Alq.  Ai,GONQUiAN.  North-east  third  of  the  continent,  from  Tennessee  and 
Montana. 

Ath,  Athapascan.  North-west  part  of  the  continent,  and  from  the  Utah- 
Colorado  line  southward  into  Mexico.  There  are  also  some  small 
groups  on  the  Pacific  coast  in  south-western  Oregon  and  north- 
western California. 

Att.    ATTAcapan.     Southern  Louisiana. 

Beo.  Beothukan.  Northern  Newfoundland.  Extinct.  Formerly  all 
Newfoundland. 

Cad.    Caddoan.    Louisiana,  Texas,  Arkansas,  and  North  Dakota. 

Crb.  Caribbean.  Caribbean  Islands  and  British  Honduras.  Also  prob- 
ably Florida  and  S.  E.  United  States  at  a  very  early  period. 

Cpn.    Chapanecan.     Chiapas,  Mexico. 

Chi.    Chimakuan.     North-west  Washington. 

Chrk.     Chimarikan.     Northern  California. 

Chyn.  Chimmesyan.  British  Columbia,  near  Dixon  Entrance,  and  the 
neighbouring  Annette  Island,  in  Alaska. 

at.    Chinantecan.     Oaxaca,  Mexico. 

Chik.    Chinookan     Lower  portion  of  the  Columbia  River. 

Cht.    ChiTimacr.iN.    Southern  Louisiana. 

Chon.    Chontal.     See  Zap.,  My.,  Tqs.,  also  Tzental. 

Chin.    Chumashan.    Southern  California  coast. 

Coh.  COAHUHTECAN.  Lower  valley  of  the  Rio  Grande  del  Norte,  ad- 
jacent to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 

Cop.    COPEHAN.     Northern  California. 

Cso.  CuSABOAN.  Coast  of  South  Carolina  ;  possibly  mainly  related  to  the 
Muskhogean.     It  is  a  group  title.    See  Gp. 

Cost.    CosTANOAN.     California,  south  of  the  Golden  Gate. 

Dak.    Dakota.    See  Sin. 

E.  Siu.    SiouAN  OE  THE  East.    Same  as  Sin. 

Esk.  ESKiMAUAN.  From  Prince  William  Sound,  Alaska,  all  along  the 
northern  coasts,  islands,  and  inlets  to  Hudson  Bay,  Greenland,  and 
northern  Newfoundland. 

Alk.  Esk.     Alaska  Eskimo. 

Alu.  Esk.     Aleut  Eskimo.     Aleutian  Islands. 

Gr.  Esk.     Greenland  Eskimo. 

Lab.  Esk.     Labrador  Eskimo. 

M.  Esk.     Middle  or  Central  Eskimo.     North  of  Hudson  Bay. 

Gp.  Group  TiTi^e.  Several  tribes  of  diflferent  stocks  classed  erroneously 
together. 

Gua.    GUATUSOAN.     Nicaragua. 

Ess.    EsSETvENiAN.     South  coast  of  California, 

Hai.    Haida.    See  Skit. 

Htia.     HuAVAN.     Isthmus  of  Tehuantepec. 

Ho.    Ho±»iTAN.     North-east  Arizona.    Classed  as  Shoshonean. 

Ir.    Iroquoian.     Around  lakes  Erie  and  Ontario,  and  down  the  St.  Law* 


If  ^ 


Appendix 


463 


'I 


KaL 

Kar. 

Kers. 

Kio. 

Kit. 

Kols. 

Kulti. 

Kus. 

Ln. 

Lut. 

Mar. 

Mgn. 

My. 

Mex. 

Mixt 

Mo. 

Mus. 

Nah. 
Nah. 

Nah. 
Nat. 

Ot. 
Pal. 
Pa. 
Pirn. 

Pbl. 


Puj. 

Qrs. 

Qor. 

Sli. 

Salh. 

Sas. 
Ser. 
Shap 

Sho. 


rence  as  far  as  Quebec  ;  along  the  Susquehanna  and  its  branches  as 
far  as  the  mouth,  and  also  a  belt  through  northern  Georgia,  eastern 
Tennessee,  western  North  Carolina,  and  southern  Virginia. 
Kai<apooian.     Western  Oregon. 
Karankawan.     Southern  Texas.     Extinct. 
Keresan.     Northern  New  Mexico. 
KIOWAN.     Indian  Territory,  formerly  in  the  Platte  valley. 
KiTUNAHAN.     British  Columbia  and  Oregon. 
Koi,uscHAN.     Dixon  Entrance  to  Prince  William  Sound,  Alaska. 
KuLANAPAN.     North-western  California. 
KusAN.     Western  Oregon. 
Lencan.     Honduras. 

LuTUAMiAN.     Southern  Oregon  and  northern  California. 
Mariposan.     Southern  California. 
Matagai,pan.     Nicaragua. 
Mayan.     Northern  border  of  Honduras  to  Isthmus  of  Tehuantepec. 
Mexicana.     See  Nah. 
MixTECA.     See  Zap. 
MoQUEi^UMNAN.     Central  California. 
MuSKHOGEAN.     Mississippi,  Alabama,  Georgia,    northern   7  lorida, 
and  western  Tennessee. 
Nakuan.     See  Nahuatlan. 

NahuaTIvAN.      Southern   portion  of  Mexico  and   parts  of  Central 
America.     Classed  as  Shoshonean. 

NAHUATtACA.      See  NAHUATIvAN. 

Natchesan.     Northern  Louisiana,  western  Mississippi.    Now  in  In- 
dian Territory. 
OTOMIAN.     Central  Mexico. 
PaIvAIHNIHAn.     North-eastern  California. 
Pani.    See  Cad. 
PiMAN.     The  Sonoran   region   of  Mexico,    and  southern   Arizona. 

Classed  as  Shoshonean. 
PuEBLOAN.     See  Ho.,  Kers.,  Pim.,  Tan.,  Zun.,  etc. 

ico  and  the  south-western  part  of  the  United  States. 

adobe  house  building  tribes. 
PujUNAN.     North-eastern  California. 
QUERES.     See  Kers. 
QUORATEAN.     Northern  California. 
Sai,inan,     Southern  California  coast. 
Salishan.     North-west    Oregon,    northern   Washington,    northern 

Idaho,  western  Montana,  south-western  British  Columbia. 
SasTEan.     Northern  California. 

Serian.     Tiburon  Island  and  adjacent  coast  of  Mexico. 
,     ShahapTian.     South-east  Washington,  north-west  Oregon,  western 

Idaho. 
Shoshonean.     Southern  Texas  to  northern  Montana  and  north  of  the 

Colorado  River,  west  to  the  Sierra  Nevada.     In  southern  California 


Northern  Mex- 
The  stone  and 


I   i 


I 


i  i 


}  '<  * 

U  i 

I 


I 


.;■! 


464  The   North-Americans  of  Yesterday 

through  to  the  Pacific.  Under  Shoshonean  are  classed  by  some 
authorities  not  onl}-  the  true  Shoshonean  but  the  Nahuatlan,  Piinan. 
and  Hopitan.  Including  the  Piman  and  Nahuatlan  the  stock  range 
would  extend  throughout  Mexico  and  to  parts  of  Central  America. 

Silt.  SiouAN.  Continuously  from  northern  Louisiana  to  the  province  of 
Saskatchewan,  eastward  to  the  Mississippi,  and  in  Wisconsin  as  far 
as  Lake  Michigan.  Westward  to  the  eastern  boundaries  of  Colo- 
rado and  Idaho.  There  were  also  formerly  a  number  of  tribes  of 
this  stock  in  North  Carolina,  South  Carolina,  and  Virginia.  See 
E.  vSiu. 

SkiL     Skittagetan.     Queen  Charlotte  Island,  North-west  coast. 

S/ih.     SuBTiABAN.     Nicaragua. 

Trt/t.     TAKI1.MAN.     South-west  Oregon. 

Ttu/.     Tanoan.     Valley  of  the  Rio  Grande  del  Norte,  New  Mexico. 

7'(ir.     Tarascan.     Michoacan,  Mexico. 

T(/s.     Tkquisti,aTECAN.     Oaxaca,  Mexico. 

Te.    Tewan  or  Trhuan.     vSee  Tan. 

Tim.     TiMUQiTANAN.     Florida. 

77.     TUNKIT.     See  Kols. 

ZX-;/.    ToNiKAN.     Eastern  Louisiana  and  western  Mississippi. 

Tow.    ToNKAWAN.     Western  and  southern  Texas. 

To/.     ToToNACAN.     vState  of  Vera  Cruz,  Mexico. 

Tzl.     TzENTAt.     Tabasco,  Mexico.     See  also  Chon. 

f.'c/i.     UCHEAN.     Georgia. 

fVv.     fi,VAN.     Honduras. 

^  «.     Unidentified.     Region,  state,  or  possible  affinity  following. 

i'fo-Az.     Uto-Aztecan.     See  Ho.,  Nah.,  Pirn.   Sjo. 

Wlp.     Waiii^atpuan.     North-east  Oregon. 

JVak.     Wakashan.     Coast  of  British  Columbia. 

Jl'as/i.     Washoan.     Eastern  California  ;  western  Nevada. 

IFii.     Weitspekan.     North-west  California  ;  south-west  Oregon. 

IFis/i.     WiSHOSKAN.     North-west  California. 

>'/(';/.    Yakonan.     Coast  of  Oregon. 

}\ii/.     Yanan.     Northern  California. 

}ltk.     YuKiAN.     Western  California. 

y'nia.     Yl'man.     Arizona,  southern  California,  and  Lower  California. 

Z(!/>.     Zapotecan,     vSouthern  ]\Iexico. 

Zo.     Zooueax.     Chiapas  and  Oaxaca,  Mexico. 

Znn.    ZUNIAN.     Western  New  Mexico. 


Appendix 
List  of  Tribes 


465 


The  stocks  are  also  included  and  are  printed  in  capitals.     In  order  to 
facilitate  reference  several  titles  of  the  same  tribe  are  sometimes  given. 


Abl)ato-tena.    Ath. 
Abiiaki.     Alq. 
Absdruqe.     Sin. 
Acadian.     Alq. 
Acaxees.     Aa//. 
Acconeecby.    E.  Sin. 
Acba.     Pd/. 
Arbe'to-tin'neb.     A//i. 
Achis.     il/r. 
Achoniawi.     Pd/. 
Acolbua.     \a/i. 
Aconia.     A'crs. 
Acotnita.     A'ers. 
Acquera.      Th/i. 
Acxoteca.     A'a/t. 
Adabi.     Ada. 
Adai.     Ada. 
Adaizax.    Ada. 
Adaize.     Ada. 
Adcts.     Ada. 
Adsbusbeer.     E.  Siti. 
Ag^omiut.     M.  Esk. 
Agualulco.     Xa/i. 
Agiiateca.     My. 
Aguile.      Tim. 
Agiitit.     J/.  Esk. 
Abaknanelet.    J/.  Esk. 
Abdntcbuyuk.     A'al, 
Abome.     Pitn. 
Abowsabt.     IVak. 
Abt.     Wak. 
Abteua.     Ath. 
Aicale.     My. 
Aivillirmiut.     3T.  Esk. 
Aiyan.     Atk. 
Ajoye.     My. 
Akansea.     Sin. 
Akbat.     Gr.  Esk. 
Akenatz}-.     E.  Sin. 
Akoklako.     Kit. 
Akorniuak.     Gr.  Esk. 


Akudliarmiut.   M.  Esk. 
Akudnirmiut.   A/.  Esk. 
Alaguilac.     A^a/i. 
Alatne.     My. 
Alasapa.     Co/i. 
Aleut.     Alu.  Esk. 
Algoiikin.     A/(/. 
Algonquian.    A/g. 
Algonquin.     A/tj. 
Alibamu.     Mus. 
Alicbe.     Cad. 
Alikwa.     IFei. 
Alimacani.      Ti/n. 
Alsea.      }'k>/. 
Altatin.     At/i. 
Aluik.     Gr.  Esk. 
Aniitormiut.     J/.  Esk. 
Anmcbgo.     Zap. 
Anuisgo.     Zap. 
Aiiaddakka.     Cad. 
Anani.     E.  Sii/. 
Anarnitsok.     C/r.  Esk. 
.Anasitcb.     A'/(S. 
Andaste.     /r. 
At.gmagsalik.  Gr.  Esk. 
Annoccby.      E.  .Sin. 
Aiiouala.      Tim. 
Apacbe.     At/i. 
Apalacbi.     J//is. 
Appalou.     Tim. 
Aquainisb.      ICak. 
Aquotiena.      Titfi. 
Arapabo.     A/(/. 
Arctic  Higblauder.    Gr. 

Esk. 
Ariquipa.     At/i. 
Arikara.      ^ 
Arikaree.    (  ^"^^ 
Aripa.      }')na. 
Arispa.     Pirn.  ? 
Arivaipa.     Ath. 


Arkansa.    Sin. 
Arra-arra.     Qor. 
Arvillirinint.     J/.  Esk. 
Aseguang.     Skit. 
Asbocbimi,      }'///•. 
Asonioches.     Alq. 
Assinaboin.     Sin. 
Assinai.     Cad. 
Assivvikales.     Alq. 
Astina.     Ti]ii. 
AtaSkut.     Ath. 
Atakvva.     E.  Sin. 
Atai.     Ada. 
Ateacari.     Nali. 
Atfdhiti.     A'al. 
Atbabascan.     .Ith. 
Atbapacca.     .////. 
Atbapasca.     ^Ith. 
Athapascan.    Ath. 
Atka.     Alu.  Esk. 
Atnab  (i).     Salh. 
Atnab  (2).     Ath. 
Atore.      Tim. 
At^..capa.     Att. 
Attacapan.     Att. 
Atuaniib.     Pal. 
Auk.     Kols. 
Avvani.     Mo. 
Axion.     Alq. 
Ayankeld.     Kal. 
Ayapai.     JMar. 
Aybuttisabt.      Wak. 
Aztec.     Nah. 

Babiocora.     Pirn. 
Backbooks.     E.  Sin. 
Baiyu.     Pnj. 
Ball6  Kai  Poino.    A'uln. 
Baluxa.     E.  .Sin. 
Bannock.     .Sho. 
Basirora.    Pitn. 


i 


I! 


n.^ 


\  \  I 


tn 


I 


466  The  North-Americans  of  Yesterday 


Basisa.     Tiin. 
Ikitenulikdyi      Kuln. 
Bcitucari.     Pirn. 
Batuco.     Pirn. 
Beaver,     ^///z. 
Belbellab.     Wak. 
Bellacoola.     Salh. 
Benixono.     Zap. 
Bcolhuk.     Bco. 
BkoThukan.    Beo. 
Bcthuck.     Beo. 
Biara.     Pirn. 
Bilkitla.     Salh. 
Biloxi.    E.  Siu. 
Binukbsb.     Siu. 
Black  feet.      Siu,      {Sec 

Sibasapa. ) 
Blackfeet.      Alq.     (See 

vSiksika.) 
Blood  Indians.     Alq. 
Boka.     Puj. 
Bollanos.     Mo. 
Braba.     Pbl. 
Brule.     Siu. 
Bulbul.      llv. 
Buldani  I'onio.     fCulti. 

Cacalote.     Coh. 
Cacbopostate.     Coh. 
Cacores.     E.  Siu. 
Cadapouce.     E.  Siu. 
Caddo.     Cad. 
Caddoan.     Cad. 
Cadica.     Tim. 
Cabita.     Pii/i. 
Caliokia.     Alq. 
Cabrok.     Qor. 
Cabuillo.     Sho. 
Cailloux.      U'lp. 
Cajono.     Zap. 
Cakcbiquel.     Jfy. 
Calabaw.     E.  Siu. 
Calanay.      Tim. 
Calapooya.     Art/. 
Canai.     Alq. 
Caniba.     ^llq. 
Cauaway.     Alq. 


Capaba.     Siu. 
Cape  Fear.     E.  Siu. 
Carcba.     C/lv. 
Carib.     Cfl>. 
Caribbean.     Crl). 
Carrizo.     Coh. 
Casa  Cbiquita.     Coh. 
Casa  Grande.     Pbl. 
Casas  Grandes.     Pbl. 
Cascade.    Chik. 
Casti.     77;//. 
Catajano.     Coh. 
Catawba.     /:.  Siu. 
Catblaniet,     Chik. 
Catblapotle.     Chik. 
Catblascon.     Chile. 
Cattoway.     E.  Siu. 
Caugbnawaga.     //'. 
Cayuga.      //-. 
Cayuse.      IFlp. 
Cenis.     Cad. 
Ceri.      y^D/a. 
Cbaco  (Ruins).    Pbl. 
Cbabta.     Jlus. 
Cbaininiaini.     3/ar. 
Cbalca.     Nah. 
Cbalquetio.     A'ah. 
Cbauuile.     Jl/r. 
Cbaneabal.     J/j'. 
Cbanguaguane.     Alh. 
Cbapa.     Cj»i. 
Cbapanec.     Cpn. 
Chai'ani;can.     Cpn. 
Cbarack.     Siu. 
Cbaraeo.     01. 
Cbarense.     01. 
Cbasta  Costa.     Alh. 
Cbata.    A/us. 
Cbatcbeeni.     Skil. 
Cbatino.     Zap. 
Cbaucbila.     J/o. 
Cbawisbek.     Kuln. 
Cbayopine.     Coh. 
Cbebalis.     Salh. 
Cbelamela.    Kal. 
Cbele.    J/j. 
Cbelekee.     /;'. 


Chemebuevi.    Sho, 
Cbenposel.     Cop. 
Cbepewyan.    Alh. 
Cberaw.     E.  Siu, 
Cberokee.     /;-. 
Cbetco.     Ath. 
Cbeyenne.     Alq. 
Cbia.     Pbl. 
Cbicasa.     jMus. 
C'licben  Itza.     Afy. 
Chicbilticalli.     Phi. 
Cbicbimec.     (Jp. 
Cbicbominy.     ^llq.  .^ 
Cbickasaw.     A/us. 
Cbicklesabt.      IVafc. 
Cbicora.     Cso. 
Cbiglit.     Alk.  Esk. 
Cbikakokini.     .llq. 
Cbikaree.     E.  Siu. 
Cbikelaki.     Alq. 
Cbilicotbe.     .llq. 
Cbilili.     Tim. 
Cbilkat.     Kols. 
Cbilluckquittequaw. 

Chik. 
CbillCila.      IVei. 
Cbilpain.     Alh. 
Chimakuan.     Chi. 
Cbimakum.     Chi. 
Cbinialakwe.     Chrk. 
Cbiinalapa.     Zo. 
Cbinialapas.     Zo. 
Cbinialpauec.     Xah. 
Chimarikan.     Chrk. 
Cbimariko.     Chrk. 
Chimmi:syax.     Chyti 
Cbinisian.     1^^^,,^^ 
Cbimsyan.   ^ 
ChinanTECAn.     at. 
Cbinanteco.     Cil. 
Cbiuarra.     Nah. 
Cbinipa.     Pirn. 
Cbinook.     Chik. 
CHIXOf)KAN.      Chik. 
Cbinquinie.     Zo. 
Cbipeway.     Alq. 
Cbippewa.     Alq. 


Appendix 


467 


Chippewyan.     Afft. 
Chiricahua,     ^ ////. 
Chiroehaka.     /;-. 
Cliitiniacha.     Oit. 
ChiTimachan.     Oit. 
Choain  Cbadila    Potno. 

Kiiln. 
Chochona.     Zap. 
Choctaw.     Mus. 
Chokiiyetn.     Jfo. 
Chole.     J\ly. 
Cholupaha.     Tim. 
Chontal(i).     6"/). 
Chontal  (2).     J/;-. 
Chontal  (3).      Tqs. 
Chopiinnish.     Sfiap, 
Chorotega.     Cp7i. 
Chorti.     J/t'. 
Chowanoc.     .llq. 
Clioya.      Ti>ii. 
Cliozetta.     i:.  Sin. 
Christaniia.     I£.  Siu. 
Chuchaca.     A'crs. 
Chuchona.     Zap. 
Clui<i;acbigmiut.     .-///t. 

Chukaiiniiia.     J/ar. 
Cbukcliansi.     .Var. 
Cbunuish.     C/n//. 
ChUMASHAN.       C//I/1. 
Cbuniawa.     Pa/. 
Cbuniaya.      )'«/•. 
Chuinidok.     J  A'. 
Cbuniteya.     J/o. 
Chuintiwa.     J/o. 
Chuniucb.     J/o. 
Cbuinwit.     J/o. 
Cbunut.     J/ar. 
Cbwacbaniaju.     I\uln. 
Cia.     rbl. 
Cicumovi.     Ho. 
Cicuye.     /'bl. 
Ciniopavi.     Ho. 
Cipaulovi.     Ho. 
Clackania.     Chik. 
Claboquabt.      Wak. 
Clallam.     Salli. 


Claniets.     /.lit. 
Clatsop.     Chik. 
Clickass.     Skit. 
Cliff-Dwellers.     Phi. 
Clovvetsus.     Wak. 
C0AIIUI1.TECAN.      Coh, 
Coabuilteco.    Coh. 
Coaquilenes.     Coh. 
Cocbimi.     Yma. 
Cocbiti.     /\cys. 
Coco.     Civ. 
Cocotnaricopa.      Yma. 
Cocoinc.     J/y. 
Coconino.      Yma. 
Coconun.     J/ar. 
Cocoi)a.      Y}>ia. 
Cfcur  d'Alenc.     Salh. 
Coguinacbc.     Pirn. 
Cobonino.      Yma. 
Cobuixca.     Xali. 
Colotlan.     Xah. 
Colouse.     Cop. 
Colvillf.    Salh. 
Comanche.     Sho. 
Comhabee.     Cso. 
Comccrudo.     Coh, 
Comcya.      Yma. 
Comiteco.     J/y. 
Como])ari.     Piui. 
Comnpatrico.     Pii)i.  .f 
Comiiripa.     Piui. 
Comnx.     Salh. 
Concho  (1 ).      }'ma. 
Concho  (2).     Coh. 
Concstoga.     //: 
Confitacbiqni.      frh. 
(  ongaree.     /:".  Sin. 
Coninos.      Yma. 
Conoy.     yll(/. 
Cook-koo-oose.     A'lis. 
Cooniac.     Chik. 
Coosa.        (.'//.      J/hs.  / 

Cso.  .^ 
Cootenai.     A'it. 
Copalis.     Salh. 
Coi)an.     J/y. 
Copeh.     Cop. 


COPEHAN.      Cop. 
Coquilth.     Wak. 
Cora.     Pirn. 
Coram.     A'ah. 
Coree.     Ir.  .^ 
Corsaboy.     Cso. 
Coshatta.     J/us. 
Cosninos.      }'ina. 
Costano.     Cost. 
Costa  NOAN.     Cost. 
Cotoljcr.     /:',  .SY«. 
Cotonam'^.     Coh. 
Coutani.     A'it. 
Covisca.     Zo. 
Covisco.     Zo. 
Cowicbin.    Salh. 
Cowlitz.     Salh. 
Coyotero.     ^-Ith. 
Cree.     Ale/. 
Creek.     J/us. 
Crow.     Sin. 
Cuchan.      Yma. 
Cuicateco.     Zap. 
Cuitlateco.     Xah. 
Culua.     i\ah. 
Cumsbawa.     Skit. 
Ciinopavi.     Ho. 
Cusabo.     Cso. 

C  ISA  BO  AX.    Cso. 

Cushna.     P/iJ. 
Cusso.     Cso. 
Cntbead.    Sill. 
Cuttawa.     /i.  Sin. 

Dahc'-tena.     Ath. 
Dakota.     Sin. 
Dakul)ctede.     .-////. 
Ddpisluil  Porno.    /\uln. 
Datipom.     Cop. 
Delamateno.     //'. 
Delaware.     ./A/. 
Didja-Za.     Zap. 
Diegueiio.      Yma. 
Digger.     Cp. 
Digotbi.     Ath. 
Dirian.     Cpn. 
Doeg.     ^llq. 


468 


The  North-Americans  of  Yesterday 


DoK  Ril).     Ath. 
DohiiU'.     Pirn. 
Dowaj^aiiha.     .llq. 
Dwamish.     Salh. 

Eastern  People.     Kuln. 
Ivataubau.    Sin. 
Kclieloot.     Chik. 
Ivlelauo.     Tim. 
Ivdisto.     Cso. 
Khiamaiia.     Tin. 
Klintk.     Qor. 
Kkog^iniiit.    ^llk.  Esk. 
Eloqualf.     Tim. 
P<iit'caqiia.      Ti}n. 
Eno.     E.  Sin, 
Erie.     //-. 
Erio.     Kuln. 
Eriwoiieck. 
Eriissi.     Kuln. 
Ivsaw.     E.  Siu. 

IVSKIMAUAN.      Esk. 

Ivskitno.     Esk. 

Ivskin.     Puj. 

ICsopus.     Alq. 

Esquimaux.     Esk. 

Esseleti.     Ess. 

ESSELKNIAN.      Ess. 

Estakewach.     Pal. 

Etcheuiiu.     Alq. 

Etiwasv.     )    _ 
T-  ,  -  Cso. 

Eutaw.       ) 

Euchre  Creek.    Ath. 

Eudeve.     Pim. 

Eukshikni.     Lut. 

Eurok.     IVei. 

Faraone.    At/i. 
Flacbbogen.     Kit. 
Flanaliaskie.     E.  Siu. 
Flatbow.    Kit. 
Flathead  (i).     E.  Siu. 
Flathead  (2).    Salh. 
Flathead-Cootenai. 

Kit. 
Flonk^o.    Ath. 
Fox.     Alq. 


Gallinomr<;o.     Kuln. 
flanawese.     .llq. 
Oaspesian.     .ilq. 
Gileno.     At/i. 
Gohunes.     Yma. 
Gosiute.    S/io. 
Grand  I'awnee.     Cad. 
Gros  Ventres.     .Siu. 
Guaicuru.     Yma. 
Guailopo.     Pitn. 
Guajiquero.     /,;/. 
Gualdla.     Kuln. 
Guatuso.     Gua. 
GUATLSOAN.      Gua. 
Guaynias.     Pirn. 
Guazapari.     Xa/i. 
Guetares.     Cf>ii. 
Guilito.     Co/y. 
Guinien.     Jfo. 
Gyidesdzo.     Cliyii. 
Gyit.i(aata.     Cliyti. 
Gyilksan.     Cliyn. 
Gyitqatla.     Cliyn. 
Gyitsalaser.     Chyu. 
Gyitsumraloi).     C'yn. 

Haeltzuk.     Wak. 
Haida.     .Skit. 
Hailtzuk.      Wak. 
Haishilla.     Wak. 
Hauiiuonasset.     Alq. 
Hanahaskies.     Siu. 
Ilanega.     Kols. 
Hano.     Tan. 
Hauocoroucouay.    Tim. 
Hantewa.     Pal. 
Hapaluya.      //';«. 
Hare.    Ath. 
Hasatch.     Kcrs. 
riasinninga.     E.  Siu. 
Hatteras.     Alq. 
Havasupai.     Yma. 
Helto.     Puj. 
Hemes.     Tan. 
Hettitoya.     Mo. 
Heve.     Pim. 
Hicarauaou.      Tim. 


Hichucios.     Pim. 
Hidatsa.    Siu. 
Hinieri.     Pim. 
Hiouacara.     Tim. 
Hirrihiqua.     'Jim. 
Hishquayquaht.     Wak. 
Hitchitee.     Mus. 
Hizo.     Pim. 
Hoak.     Puj. 
Hoankut.     Puj. 
Hololiipai.     Puj. 
Homolua.     Tim. 
Hoodsunu.     Kols. 
Hoopah.     .////. 
Hopi.     Ho. 
HOPITAX.      Ho. 
llopilu.     Ho. 
Ilowakaii.     Skit. 
Howcbuklisaht.     Wak. 
Ilualapai.      Yma. 
Huasteca.     .^fy. 
IIUAVAN.     Hua. 
Huaves,    Hua. 
Huaztonteco.     Hua. 
Huecos.     Cad. 
Huichol.     Nah. 
Huite.     Nah. 
Huma.      ^ 
Hume.      I-^"^'- 
Flumawhi.     Pal. 
Hunah.     Kols. 
Hupa.     Ath. 
Huron.     //-. 
Husky.     Esk. 
Husorone.     Pim. 
Hutchnom.      Yuk. 
Hydah.     Skit. 

Igdlolnarsuk.    Gr.  Esk. 
Iglulingmiut.     M.  /^■<k. 
Ikogmiut.    Alk.  Esk. 
Illinois.     Alq. 
Ilmawi.     Pal. 
Imahklimiut.      yllk. 

Esk. 
luguhklimiut.      Alk, 

Esk. 


Appendix 


469 


Innies.     Cad. 
Inmiit.     AV/-. 
lowii.     Sin. 
IpapjiiKiii.     Tot. 
iKonroiAN.     /;-. 
Iro(|uois.     /;■. 
Isaiitei.     Sin. 
Isleta,  NewMex.     Tan. 
Islt'ta,  Ttxas.      Tan. 
Issa.     E.  Sin. 
Isvva.     /:.  Sin. 
Itafi.     Tim. 
Itara.      Tim, 
Itazi])tco.     Sin. 
Ilitdia.     ^fat■. 
Itivimiut.     Lab.  Esk. 
ltz:i.     My. 
Iviniiut.     (ir.  Esk. 
Ixil.     J/v. 

Janos.      .////. 
Jaripecha.      Tar. 
Jcmez.      Tan. 
Jicarilla.     .////. 
Jocolabal.     My. 
Jonaz.     Of. 
Jopf.     Zo. 
Joshua.     A//i. 

Kabinapck.     h'n/ii. 
Kadapaw.     /:\  Sin. 
Kn,i4iUl.      U'ak. 
Kaialij^miut.  .///•.  Es/c. 
Kaigani.     Skit. 
Kaitue.     Knln. 
Kaiowe.     Kio. 
Kai  I'otuo.     Knln. 
Kaivavitz.     Sho. 
Kaiyuli-khotana.     Atli. 
Kakainatsis.      Wak. 
Kai.ai'ooian.     Kal. 
Kalapuya.     Kal. 
Kaltsuerea  tuune.  Ath. 
Kanialel  Ponio.     Knln. 
Kangivainiut.     Lab. 

Esk. 
Kaiiginaligmiut.     Alk. 

Esk. 


Kaugoniiiut.      J/.  Iisk. 
Kaiii.     .)/('. 

Kriuiagiiiiut.  .Ilk  /Csk, 
Kansa.     Sin. 
Karatikawa.     A'a/. 
Karankawan.     Kar 
Karok.     (J'"'- 
Kar  suit.     6V.  /isk. 
Kaskaskia.     .III/. 
Kassooo.     .Var. 
Kassovo.     J/ar. 
Kastel  Potiu).     Knln. 
Kasua.     .S7/. 
Katdian.      Yma. 
Kato  I'oiiio.     Knln. 
Kauia.     Mar. 
Kaulits.     Salh. 
Kaus.     Kns. 
Kauvuyas.     .Sho. 
Kaviaginiut.  .Ilk.  Esk. 
Kaw.     Sin. 
Kaweali.     J/ar. 
Kawcya.     Mo. 
Kawiasuh.     .Slio. 
Kayowe.     Kio. 
Kayniig.     .S7'//. 
Kcaltaua.     -////. 
Kc'olR'inerhi.s.     .ilq. 
Kfcliis.     Slio. 
Keiiuanoeitoh.      U'ak. 
Kc'k.     Kols. 
Kclla.     (^n.,  Atli.f 
Keniisak.     Cir.  Esk. 
Keuai.     .llli. 
Kenay.     .llli. 
Kc'Ufsti.     .////. 
Kcra.     Ktrs. 
Kties.     Krrs. 
KiCKKSAX.  Airs. 
Kcswhawhay.     A'er. 
Keyauwee.  /:.  .Sin. 
Kiawaw.     Cso. 
K'iapkwaiiiakwiii. 

Znn. 
Kiawetni.     Mar. 
Kicliai.     Cad. 
Kickapoo.      Alq. 


Kiguaqtaguiiut.     Lab. 

Esk. 
Kikapoo.     .Ilij. 
KikktTtarsoak.      (7i. 

Esk. 
Killatnuk.     Salli. 
Kiuarhik.     (ir.  /:sk. 
Kiiiguaitniiut.  .1/.  /:sk. 
King's  River.      Mo). 
KiniKpatu.     .)/.  Esk. 
Kiowa.     A'io. 
K  low  AX.     A'io. 
Kioway.      A'io. 
Kisani.     /V>1. 
Ki.scapocoki'.     .//</. 
!  Kitsinaht.      U'ak. 
Kitlegarc'ut.    .///,-.  Esk. 
Kitluwa.     /;-. 
KlTUNAHAN.      A'/ 1. 
Kizh.     .Sl/o. 
Klallaiu.     Sail/. 
Klauiath(i).     Ant. 
Kkiniatli  (2j.      U'li. 
Klaiioh-Klatkhiiu.   A'it. 
Klaokwat.      U'ak. 
Kktit'katc'.     A'ols. 
Klikilat.     .Slia/>. 
K'liaia-khotona.     .////. 
Kiiik.     ,////. 
KnistcuLiui.     yllt/. 
Koasati.     J/ns. 
Kolonia.     /'/(/'. 
Koloinuni.     /'/(/. 
Kolosch.     A'ols. 
Koi.i'SCHAX.     A'ols. 
Koniacho.    Knln. 
Koiubo.      Cn .,   )'an .  .^ 
Koinuk.     Salli. 
Konjageii.      /'Lsk.  .* 
Konkau.      Pnj. 
Kootenai.     Kit. 
Kopaginint.    ^llk.  Esk. 
Kopc'.     Cop. 
Korusi.     Cop. 
Kouksoanniut.     Lab. 

Esk. 
Kowaginiut.  Alk.  Esk. 


470  The  North-Americans  of  Yesterchiy 


I 


'1: 


Kowelits.     S(i//i. 
Kowilth.      Wis//. 
Koyukiikhoirinu.     -,-////. 
Kraiiiiilit.     J/.  /i.vX'. 
Kuaj,'iniut.     .I/A'.  Esk. 
Kiu'hin.     y////. 
Kuilc.      }'/•;/. 
Kuld  Kai  romo.  Knlu, 
Kn.ANAi'AN.     Knlu. 
Kulanapo.     Kitbi. 
Kiiliiieh.     /'///• 
Kuloinuni.     /'///'. 
K1UIJ4.     Skit. 
Kunxit.     Skit. 
Kupiik'.     My. 
Kiisa.    A«.s. 
KrSAN.     Khs. 
Kuscarawock.     Alq. 
Kuskwogtniut.        ^Uk. 

J-sk. 
Kutani.     A'it. 
Kulchfi-Kut chill''.  ^Ith. 
KiUchan.      Vina. 
Kulchin^     At/i. 
Kutfiiay.     Kit. 
Kwaiaiilikwoket.     S/io. 
Kwakiutl.      U'ak. 
Kwalhioqua.     ^ ////. 
Kwantlen.     Sdl/i. 
Kwapa.     Sill. 
Kwasbilla.     U'ak, 
Kwatoa.     Piij. 
Kwazaini.     .It/i. 
K\vikhp5gnnut.     Alk. 

Esk. 
Kwokwoos.     Kits. 
Kyoquaht.      IVak. 

Lacatulon.     i\fy. 
Laguiia.     Ktrs. 
Laimono.     Vina. 
I<dktniut.     Kill. 
Lama.     Knlu. 
Las'sik.     Cop. 
T<caf-sliootL*rH.     Siti. 
I<enapd.     Alq. 
Leuca.    Lu. 


Lkncan.     /.ii. 
Leiini-Lftiapc'.     ^llq. 
I.ikaluit.     iMo. 
IJkwiltoh.      U'ak. 
lyilowat.     Sal/i. 
Lipaii.     Atli. 
I<i\vaito.     Cof>. 
Llaiiero.     .////. 
Ivoldla.     Cop. 
Lolon^kuk.     .////. 
Lolsi'l.     Cop. 
Long  Island,     yllq. 
Long  Valley.     S/io. 
Lopolatimnt".     Mo. 
Loiicht'ux.     .////. 
Lower  Coquille.     Kiis. 
Luenruru.     Tim. 
Luninii.     .Sal/i. 
I/Uluami.     J. ill. 
LutL'amian.    /.III. 

I\Lnca\v.      U'ak. 
IMachajninga.     .ilq. 
^Nlachaua.     Tiin. 
Machenini.     Mo. 
jMachenioodus.     ^llq. 
Macock.     Alq 
Magtniiut.     .Ilk.  JCsk. 
I\Lihican.     ^llq. 
IMalileniiut.     .Ilk.  Esk. 
Mahoc.     rii.,E.Sin..' 
]\Iaidu.     /V- 
Maiera.      Tim. 
Makah.      U'ak. 
Makhelchel.     Cop. 
Malaka.     Cop. 
INLnlica.      Tim. 
Maliseet.     .llq. 
:Main.     J/i'. 
Mauialeilakitish.    U'ak. 
Manahoac.     E.  Sin. 
ISLanakin.     /:.  Sin. 
Mandan.     Sin. 
Maneetsuk.     Gr.  J:<k. 
Mangoac.     //'. 
IVIangue.     Cp>i. 
^lanliattan.     .Ilq. 


Mano  de  jKrro.     Co/l. 
Manosaht.      U'ak. 
Matitc'sc.     .Ilq. 
]\L'ireschit.     .Ilq. 
Maricopa.      ]'i/ia. 
Marijjosa.     J/ai. 
:\L\Kii>().SAN.     J/ ay. 
Marracou.      Tim. 
Mascoutin.     .Ilq. 
Maskegon.     .Ilq. 
Maskoki.     J/iis. 
INIassacliuset.     .Ilq. 
Massawonick.     //'. 
Massetl.     Skit. 
IMassinacak.     /:".  .Siu. 
Matagalpan.      Cii. 
IMalapane.     /'im. 
Matclpa.      U'ak. 
3L'iUiaica.      Tim. 
Matlaltzinco.     Ot. 
Matlanic.     Ot. 
^lattaniuskcet.     .Ilq. 
Mattapony.     .Ilq. 
Maltoal.   './///. 
Mauvais-Monde.      .////. 
INIaya.     .Vy. 
:\L\VAX.     My. 
IMayapan.     J/r. 
^Maya-Quiche.     My. 
IMayarca.      7Y/«. 
May  ay  u.     jVar. 
jNLiyo.     /Vw. 
Mazahua.     Ot. 
]\Lazapil.     A'a/i. 
]\Iazateco.     Zafi. 
INIecos.     01. 
Meewoc.     A/o. 
IMehenieucho.     E.  Siu. 
Meherrin.     /r. 
IMeidoo.     PnJ. 
Meipontsky.     E.  Siu. 
Melchora.     Clz'. 
Meliseet.     Alq. 
Meloua.      Tim. 
Melukitz,     A'us. 
]\Iengwe.     Ir. 
Menominee.     Alq. 


A})p(jndix 


471 


Mequachake.     Alq, 
Mescal.     Colt. 
IMescalero.     At/i. 
Mc'fliovv.     Sa/h. 
Mcxitaiia.     Xa/i, 
Mcztitlateca.     Na/i. 
Miiikan.     Co/i. 
Miami.     .Uq. 
Michoa.     'Jar. 
Michdpdo.     PhJ. 
]\Iicikqwutnif      tiimiC. 

Ath. 
Micinac.     ^Uq. 
:Mico.      I  Iv. 
IVIic'oninovi.     Ho. 
MiJL'.     Zo. 

IMikono  tuutic.     Ath. 
Mitiibrcno.     ^Itli. 
I\Iiii,s40.     //•. 
Mitiisink.     Alq. 
^linitarec.     Sill. 
IMiiuit'conjou.    Sin. 
Mitisi.     Alq. 
Misalaniaj,'un.     Knln. 
Mishotif^novi.     Ho. 
IMisisauga.     .llq. 
IMissouri,     Sin. 
Mita.      Wei. 
IMitodni      Kai       Porno. 

A'lilii. 
INIiwok.     Mo. 
Mixe.     Zo, 
Mixtec.     Zap. 
Mixleca-Zapoteca.  Zap. 
Moan'auzi.     Slio. 
Moapariats.     Slio. 
Mobilian.     J\fus. 
]\Iochilagua.     Pitii.  f 
INIocoso.     Tim. 
Mocossou.     Tim. 
IMoc'toby.     E.  Sin. 
Modoc.     Lilt. 
Modokiii.     Luf. 
Mogollon.     Atli. 
Mohave.     Yma. 
Mohawk.     /;-. 
Mohegan.     Alq. 


IVIohetan.     /■!.  Sin. 
Mohican,     .llq..' 
Mokc'hiiuiii.     .'/(>. 
Moki.     /A;. 

Moiiiic.    //y/.. 

Molua.     'Tim. 
Moiiachi.     Slio. 
Monagaii.     /:'.  Sin. 
Monahasiiinigli.  A.  Sin. 
Moiiasiccapaiio.  /:".  .Sin. 
IVIono.     SIto. 
Moiiocaii.     Ji.  Sin. 
Monqui.      )'ma. 
Mousey,     ^-llq. 
Moiisoni.     .llq. 
Montagiiais  (i).   Alli. 
Moiitagnais  (2'.     .llq. 
Moiitagnard.     ^llli. 
Moiitauk.     ^'llq. 
Moose.     Alq. 
Moosonee.     Alq. 
INIopan.     J/r. 
MoQiKi.UMNAN.     3/0. 
IMoquehiinne.    Mo. 
Moquis.     Ho. 
^Moscoso.      Tim. 
Mosilian,     ^llq. 
Mouiidbuihler.        Com- 
posite.     Gp. 
INIowachat,      U'ak. 
INIowhemcho.     /:.  Sin. 
Muchdit,      U'ak. 
^Iuctol)i.     E.  Sin. 
:Mukahik.     Lnt. 
Mulhu-k.     /v7/y. 
^IiiUnoma.     Cliik. 
Miiiisei',     .llq. 
]Musakakuii.     Knln. 
MUSKHOGEAN.      Mns. 
Muskhogce.     Mnx. 
INIuskoki.     Mns. 
]\Iusqinto.   I'n. 
INIutsiin.     iMo. 
Muutzizti.     Pim. 

Naas.  Cp. ,  Cliyn.,Salh.  ? 
Nachitoches.     Cad. 


Nacu.     A'//\.  .-• 

Nadowessiwag.     Sin. 
NagaiUr.     .Ith. 
Nageiiktormiut.    M. 

Ksk. 
Nahauiii.     .7///. 
Nalisuzi.     /'/)/. 
Na'htchi.     Xal. 
Xaliiia.     .\'(///. 
Nahiiall.     Xah. 
NAurA'rr.AN.     Xah. 
Nahuatleca.     Xah. 
Xaliyssaii.     /•.'.  Sin. 
Na-isha.     Ath. 
Naktche.     Xat. 
Nakuiii.     Pnj. 
Nakwaiitoh.      Wak. 
Naltuii  iietuiiiie.     Ath. 
Xambe.      Tan. 
Xaiiaimo.     Salh. 
Xanoos.    Salh. 
Xanlic.     ^llq. 
Xaiiticoke.     Alq. 
X.iolingo.      'Tot. 
Napa  (I).     Cop. 
Xa])a  (2).      Ynk. 
Xapetiica.      'Tim. 
Xarragaiiset,     .\lq. 
X'arsuk.     (ir.  Esk. 
Xascapee.     Alq. 
XasqiiA.     Chyn. 
Xataco.     Cad. 
X'atches.     Xat. 
Natch  I'SAN.     Xat. 
Xatchez.     Nat. 
X'atchitoches.     Cad. 
Xatowek.     //'. 
Xatowesieux.     Sin. 
XfUsit-Kiitchiii^     Ath. 
Naugatuck.     Alq. 
Xausct.     Alq. 
Xavaho.  1   ^^^/^_ 
X'avajo.     I 
Xawiti.     Wak. 
X'ayeril.     Pi}n. 
Neiialim.     Salh. 
Nehautic.     Alq. 


*i 


472  TliL'   Nortli-Aiiu:ricans  of  Yesterday 


NchaMuec.     .////, 
NLlu'tliawii.     .l/t/. 
Nfiienot.     .//(/. 
Ncspc'lutii.     Sti//i. 
N\tchillirmiut.  M./Csk. 
Nitcla.     Sfio. 
Nft/.icho.     /itfy. 
N'fusiok.     .//(/.  / 
Nfiilcr.     /;-. 
Nc'vome.    Sho. 
Nt'w  Gold  Harbour. 

Skit. 
Ncwichumiii.     Mo. 
Nez  I'tTce.     S/h<f>. 
Ntcaraos.     A'a/i. 
Nicas.sias.     J/o. 
Xicoutaimich.     Stil/i. 
Nihaloth.      C/iik. 
Nikoiilia.     /i.  Sin. 
Nimkish.      //'rt^', 
Nipissiiifi.     y/A/. 
Ni])inuc.     ^//</. 
Ni])net.     ^^/f/. 
Niquiran.     \a/i. 
Nlsliinam.     PiiJ. 
Nis<iualli.     Salli. 
NMtiiiaht.      ll'ak. 
Niwili.      Wak. 
Noeina.     Cop. 
Noje.      Vail. 
Notnlaki.     Cof>. 
Noiinnuk.     Cofy. 
Nootka.     Wak. 
Norclniuk,     Cop. 
Norniuk.     Cop. 
Nonidj^evvock.     Alq. 
Noichee.     Xat. 
Xolodnaiti.     J/^r. 
Nottoway.     /;■. 
Noyuki.     Cop. 
Nozi.      Yiiia. 
Nuchalaht.      Wak. 
Niiguniiut.     M.  Esk. 
Nnksabk.     Salli. 
Nutnpali.     Mo. 
Nuni'su.     Cop. 
Nuiiatogniiut.  Alk.  Esk. 


.Sin. 


Nuiicock.     Sin. 
Xuiiivaj^'tniut.  .  ///•. 

Esk. 
Nuntaly.  f'n.,  E.  Sin.? 
Nuiitam.'uck.    I'n.,/-!. 

Sin.  .'> 
Nusdahmi.     Sa/ii. 
Nuslia}^a>,'tniiit.        .Ilk. 

Esk. 
Nusulph.     Sal/i, 
Nutdiu.     Jfo. 
Xutlia.     Sho. 
Xutka.      Wak. 
Xiuvuiij^tniut.  .'Ilk. 

Esk. 

Oathcaqua.      Tim. 
Ocean eechi.     /:'.  .Siu. 
Oclunj^ita.     Afar. 
Ocotlano.     Zap. 
Oenock.     A'.  .S7/^ 
Oj^'alalla.      ) 
OKldla.         i' 
Oglemiut.     ^llk.  P'sk. 
Ohiat.     Wak. 
Ojadagochroene.     E. 

Sin. 
OjiVjwa.     Al{/. 
Okahoki.     Alq. 
Okeeogiiiiul.  .l/k.  Esk. 
Okinagan.     Salli. 
Okkiosorbik.    dr.  Esk. 
Okotniut.     J/.  Esk. 
Olainentke.     J/o. 
Olelato.     Cop. 
01  hone.     Mo. 
Olla.     Pni. 
Olinecc;.     .' ';/.,  Me:v, 
Olovidok.     Mo. 
Olowit.     .h'o. 
Olow'\.i.     Mo. 
Olpost'l.     Cop. 
Olulato.     Cop. 
Oluinpali.     J/o. 
Omaha.    Sin. 
Onathcaqua.     Tim. 
Onava.    Piin. 


Oneida,     /r. 
Onoeliatjuara.      Tint, 
Oiion(higa.     // . 
Oiitpoiias.     E.  .Sin, 
Oohcnopa.     Sin. 
Opata.     J'iin. 
Opatoro.     /,//. 
Opechisaht.      ll'ak, 
Optiiango.     .//(/. 
Opuhnarke.     ^7/i/. 
Oraibc.     //o. 
Orarian.     .  l/k.  Esk. 
Ort'jone.     Co/i. 
Orista.     Cso. 
Orotina.      1   ^., 
Orotinan.    • 
Osage.     Sin. 
Osile.     Ti/n. 
Otaki.     PnJ. 
Otari.     /r. 
Otayachgo.     Alg. 

O^"-      }Sin. 
Otoe.     ' 

Otonii.     01. 

Otomian.     01. 

Ottawa.     Al(/. 

OuiiAngan,     Esk. 

Oustaca.      Tim. 

Owilapsh.     yl/li. 

Paanese.     E.  Siu. 
Paboksa.     Sin. 
Pacaos.     Colt. 
Pacheuaht.      ll'ak. 
Pachera.     Pi  in . 
Pacuache.     Co';. 
Padlimiut.     J/.  Psk. 
Paduca.     Gp. 
Paguate.     A'ers. 
Pah  Ute.    A 
Pai  Ute.      I  Slio. 
Paiuti.        i 
Pajahite.     Col/. 
Pakanialli.     J'al.  / 
Pakawd.     Coll. 
Palaihnih.     Pal. 
Pai.aihxihan.    Pal. 


1 


'i 


Appendix 


473 


I'alaik.     /W. 
I'aliiHjUf.     .Vj. 
I'alcuinni.     Slio. 
I'allij^awoiiai).     Sfio. 
I'aloos,     S/i(i/>. 
l*aluxsi.     /:.  Sin. 
I'aiiUKjue.     Co/l, 
Paiuawaioc.     > //y. 
Paiiif.     O/. 
rainlico.     ^l/</. 
Paiiipopa.     Co/i, 
raiiiticoke.     .l/i/. 
ratmnikcy.     .1///. 
I'aiii.     C(i(/. 
I'aiipakan.     /'/(/. 
rantasnia.     f'/z'. 
I'antcco.     J/v. 
Papabuco.     Zii/>. 
Papaj^o.     Pi'ui. 
Parrastah.     f  'Iv. 
Paskaj^ula.     ►SV«, 
Pasquotank,     ^llq, 
Passainaquoddi.     Alq. 
Pastancova,     Coh, 
Patacale,     Coh. 
Patavvat.      Wish. 

Patchdwe  i       ^^' 
Patchioa.     Tim, 
Patslienin.     /:".  Sin. 
Patwin.     Cop. 
Paiij^usset.     ^llq. 
Paupakaii.     Piij. 
Pausaiie.     Coh. 
Pavant.    She. 
Paviotso.     Sho. 
Pawnee.     Cad. 
Paya.     Uu. 
Payseya.     Coh. 
Pea.     Alq. 
Pecos.     Pbl. 
Pedee.     E.  Sin. 
Pebtsik.     Qor. 
Pekwan.      W'ci. 
Pend  d'Oreille.     Salh. 
Penobscot.     Alq. 
Pennacook.     Alq. 


Pintbisb.     ) 


Salh. 


Piiillatc.       I 
Peoria.      .  \tq. 
Pi(|U(*t.     .Mq. 
Pericu.      Yma. 
Perquinian.     .llq. 
Peten.     My. 
Piankisbaw.     .llq. 
Piciiris.      Tau. 
Pi  I'Me.     .Sho. 
Piej^an.     .llq. 
Pibique.     Coh. 
Piliiij,Mniut.     J/.  A",v/t. 
Pima.     /'/;«. 
Pi  MAN.     Pirn. 
Pinal  Coyotero.     .////. 
Pinoine.     Zo. 
Pintabae.     JC.  Sin. 
Pi])ik'.     Sho. 
Piqua.     .llq. 
Pirinda.     Ol. 
Piros.      Tau. 
Piscataway.     .\lq. 
Pisquow.     Salh. 
Pitkacbi.     ^ra^■. 
Pitt  River.     Pal. 
Pi  I'te.     Sho. 
Poani  Poino.     Kuhi. 
Poconitock.     ^llq. 
Podunk.     .llq. 
Poclo.     Sho. 
Pobdllin  Tinleb.     Mar. 
Pobonicbi.     Mo. 
Pojoaque.      Tan. 
Pokoniani.     ^fy. 
Pokoncbi.     J/v. 
Polnksalgi.     A".  Sin. 
Ponio.     Kill  II. 
Poniouik.     .llq. 
Ponca.     Sill. 
Ponderay.     Salh. 
Popoluca.     Gp.,  Mr.v. 
roquonnoc.     Alq. 
Potation.     Tim. 
Poteskeet.     .Uq. 
Potlapigua.     Pint. 
Pottawatomi.     .Ilq. 


Potlawattonii.     .Ilq. 
I'owbatlan.     .  Ilq, 
Pueblito.     A'tis. 
Pueblo.     Pl>l. 
Pri;iii,()A.\.     /V7. 
Pujunan.     /'iij. 
Pujutii.     /'///. 
Pnbiirib.     /'<//. 
Pnnyeestye.     AV/.s". 
Punyekia.    A'l/s, 
Pnsityilcbo.     A'crs, 
Pusiina.     /'/(/. 
Pntnin.     J/y. 
Puyalhii).     Salh, 

Qaj,'ntl.      U'ai'. 
QaninananKniiut.        J/. 

ICsk. 
yinjiuainiut.     JA  J-^sk. 
Quaitso.     .Salh. 
(jnapaw.     Sin. 
Quatquiutl.     U'ak. 
(Juatsino.      U'ak. 
(Juekcbi.     J/r. 
yueniut.     Salh. 
Queptlinaniisli.     .Salh. 
Querecbos.     /  'n.,  .Sho.  / 
(jueres.     A'rrs. 
(juiabanless.     .Skil. 
Quicbe.     jl/y. 
Quile-Ule.     Chi. 
Quinneban}^^     .Ilq. 
Qninnipiac.     .Ilq. 
Quinpi.     ^Ilq. 
Qnivira.     Cn.,  .Sin.  .■' 
Quoddy.     ^Ilq. 
QroKATKAN.     <l(ir. 
yuoratein.     Qor. 
Qwinctunneliiii.      .llh. 

Rama.     fit. 
Ramaj)0().     .Ilq. 
Ramcock.     .Ilq. 
Rebo.      f  'n.,  Call. 
Republican   P  a  w  nee. 

Cad. 
Riccaree.     Cad. 


474 


The  North-Americans  of  Yesterday 


S     I ' 


II ; 


Rickohockan.     Ir. 

Rikwa.      Wei. 

Ro.uue     River.         Ath. 

and  Tak. 
Runsien.     Gp. 
Rurok.      Wei. 

vSaagit.      Wei. 

Sal)aquis.     Pivt. 

Sabaibo.     Natt . 

Sac.     Alq. 

Sac  and  Fox.     yUq. 

Sacuniehu.     Salh. 

vSagdlinniut.     ]\I.  Esk. 

Saliaripa.     Pim. 

Sabewamish.     Salh. 

Sabkey.     Alq. 

Saiaz.     Ath. 

Saidyuka.     Sho. 

Saint  Regis.     Ir. 

Saiwasb.     Sas. 

vSakaiakunini.     JMo. 

S.M.IXAN.     Sli. 

vSabsli.     Salh. 

Saushan.    S':ilh. 

Saluda,    ^llq.  / 

Sainaniisb.     Salh. 

vSainisb.     Salh. 

San  Antonio.     Un. 

Sandia.      Tan. 

Sanetcb.     Salh. 

San  Felipe.     Kers. 

Sanbican,     Alq. 

San  lUlefonso.     Tan. 

Sanipao.     Con. 

vSan  Juan.     Tan, 

San  Juan  de  Ciuacara. 
Tim. 

San  INIateo.      Tiiii. 

San  Rafael,     Jfo. 

vSans  Arcs.     Sin. 

Sans  I'nell.     Salh. 

.Santa  Ana.     Kers. 

Santa  Barbara.     .S7/. 

Santa  Cbira,  New  Mex- 
ico.     7(/;/. 

Santa  CUira,  Utali.  Sho. 


Santa  Cruz,  CaU.     Mo. 
Santa  Flena.     Cso. 
>Santa  Inez.      ^7/. 
Santa  Lucia  de  Acuera. 

Tim . 
San  tee.  E.Sin  i\iu\Siu. 
Santiani.     Kal. 
Santo  Domingo.     Kers. 
Saponi.     E.  Sin. 
Saps.     E.  Sin. 
Saptiu.     Shop. 
Sara.     E.  Sin. 
Sarcees.     ^Uh. 
Saste.     Sas. 
Sastean.    Sas, 
vSatsika.     uilq. 
Satsop.    Salh. 
Saturiwa.      Tim. 
Sauk.     Alq. 
Saumingnil'it.    Jf.Esk. 
Sauteux.     ^llq. 
Savanna,     ^llq. 
Sawdkbtu.     Jfar. 
vSawaniisb.     Salh. 
Saxapabaw.     A".  Sin. 
Sayuskbi,      Ykn. 
Scatacook.      .llq. 
Sebasa.      Wak. 
Secoffit.     ^llq, 
Secotau.     Alq. 
Seemunab.     Kers. 
Scguas.     Nah. 
Sekamisb.     Salh. 
vSekunine.     Pni. 
Sehiwigniiut.  .Ilk.  Esk. 
Sebsb.     Salh. 
SeIninok^     Jfns. 
Seneca.     Jr. 
Senecii.     y\in. 
Sen  el.     Knln. 
vSequas.     Xah. 
Seri.     .SV/'. 
Si:kian.     Ser. 
vSer!niliii;ak.     dr.  Esk. 
Serniilik.     (h:  Esk. 
vSerousbannic.     J/o. 
Serrano.      1)1. 


•-"sbabt.      Wak. 
Sewee.     E.  .Sin. 
Sbacco.     /:".  Sin. 
Sbackaconias.     .S7«. 
Sbabaptani.     Shap. 
Shahai'Tiax.     .Shap. 
Sbakan.     Skil. 
vSbanktonwan.     Sin. 
Sbasta.     Sas. 
vSbastika.     Sas. 
Sbasty.    Sas. 
vSbawano.     W/y. 
vSlunvnee.     Alq. 
Sbeslitapoosb.     ^llq. 
Sbetiniasba.     Chi. 
vSbevwitz.     Sho. 
vSbeycnne.     yllq. 
vSliibal'ni  Poino.  Knln. 
Sbingwauk.     .llq. 
vShinonio.     1  p,  , 
Sbinumo.     i 
Sbi\va])inuk.     Salh. 
Sbiwokugniiut.        ^\lk 

Esk. 
Sboccori,     /:.  .S7/^ 
Sb6doKai  Ponio.  h'nlu 
Sbonianiisb.     Salh. 
vSbooswap.     Salh. 
Sbcrbckoes.     Siio.  .■' 
Shoshonhan.    Sho. 
Sbosbone.  1 
Sbosboni.    ) 
Sbotlenianiisb.     Salh. 
Sia.     Kers. 
Siako.     Knhi. 
Sicatl.    Salh. 
Sicaunie.     .////. 
Sibasapa.     Sin. 
Sikonesse.     ^llq. 
Sikosuilarniint.  J/. 

Esk. 
Siksika.     .llq. 
vSilets.     Salh. 
vSilla.     Kers. 
vSimilaton.     Ln. 
Sinaloa.     /Vw. 
vSiiiiniiut.     J/.  /:".?/'. 


Sho. 


\i%  C^ 


Appendix 


475 


Si  imager.     Ir. 
SiouAN.     Sin. 
Sioux.     Sin. 
Siquai.     Vlv. 
Sisscton.     Sin. 
Sissipalunv.     E.  Siu. 
Sitcaxu.     Sin. 
Sitcoinov!.     Ho. 
Sitka.     Koh. 
Siuslaw.     Yk)i. 
Skagit.    Salh. 
vSkctlau.     .Skit. 
Skidi.     Cad. 
Skilnvaniish.     Salh. 
Skiteiget.     .Skit. 
Skitsuish.     Salh. 
Skittagct.     Skit. 
Skittagictan.    Skit. 
Skoffi.     .Uq. 
vSkokoniisli.     Salh. 
vSkojximish.     Salh. 
Skoyelpi.     Salh. 
Sktelihnish.     Salh. 
vSkwaksin.     Salh. 
Skwallvaniish.     Salh. 
Slave.     .////. 
Sluacus  timiL')i.     Ath. 
Smoos.     L'lz'. 
Smulkainish.     Salh. 
Suake.    Sho. 
Snohomisli.     .Salh. 
vSnoqualiiii.     Salh. 
Sobaipuri.     J'im. 
Socliiiniloco.     ^Vah. 
Soke.     ►S'(////. 
Sokoa.     Kiilit. 
Soltcco.     Zap. 
Sougish.     .Salh. 
Sonoiiii.     }fo. 
Sonura.     Pnii. 
Sonoreiise  Opata.    Pirn. 
Sorrocho.      Tiin. 
Soiiriquoi.     ^llq. 
Spirit  Lake.     Siu. 
Spokan.     Salh. 
Squawiiiislil.     Salh. 
Squaxoii.     Salh, 


.Squonainish.     Salh. 
Slahkin.     Kols. 
Stegara.     E.  Siu. 
Stebtsasaiiiish.     Salh. 
Steukenocks.     E.  Siu. 
Stilhicutn.    Salh. 
.Stone.     Cso. 
St,  Regis.     //-. 
Subiroiia.     llz'. 
Subtiaba.     .Sub. 
SUBTIAHAN.      Sub. 

Sugaii.     /:'.  .Siu. 
Sugaree.     /:".  .Siu. 
Siigou.      Wei. 
Suiiiyi.     Zun. 
vSuisiin.     Cop. 
Sutnass.     Salh. 
Supi.     Vina. 
Suquauiish.     Salh. 
vSuqu'.iiimiut.  Lab.  Esk. 
Susquehannock.     /;'. 
Swali.     Siu. 
Swinauiisli.     .Salh. 

Tacame      Coli. 
Tacatacura.      Ti)ii. 
Taehi.     Mar. 
Taculli.     .'Ith. 
Taderighroiie.     E.  Siu. 
Taeiisa.     Nat. 
Tagisli.     A'ols. 
Tahicliapahanna.     Sho. 
Tahkaht.       IVak. 
Tab  kali.     .-////. 
Tfih'ko-tin'neli.     Ath. 
Tablewah.     .-////. 
Tabltan.     .Ith. 
Taiakwin.     Zicu. 
Tait.     .Salh. 
Taitcbiiia.     PitJ. 
T  ikiliua.      'Pak. 
Takii.man.     Tak. 
Taku.     k'ols. 
Talanianca.     L  ii. 
Talaino.     Salh. 
Talatui.     J/o. 
Talir])ing!iiiul.  J/.  Esk. 


Taltftctuu  tude.    Ath. 
Taitial.     Mo. 
Taniaroi.     Alq. 
Tainoleka.     Mo. 
Tanek.     E.  Siu. 
Tano.     Tan. 
Taisoan.     Tan. 
Tantoyoc.     Ilfy. 
Tanu.    Skit. 
Taos.      Tan. 
Tapaneco.     Xah. 
Tapijulapaiie.     Zo. 
Tappas.     Cail. 
Taqagiuiul.     Lab.  Esk, 
Tarabuinara.     Piin. 
Tarasca.      Tar. 
Tarascan.     Tar. 
Tarasco.      'Pa). 
Tarelepa.     3ly. 
Tarratiiie.     ^llij. 
Tartanee.     Skii. 
Tataten.     .////. 
Tatera.     /:'.  .Sin. 
Tateral,     C'r.  /^sk. 
Tatimole.      7]>t. 
Tatsdli-kutchiii.     At/i, 
Tatu.      }  'uk. 
Tauxsuitania.      E.  Siu. 
Tawakomie.     Cad. 
Taywaugb.      Pan. 
Tt 


rceme.     1 
Tclieiue.  I 


■1th. 


TcdtlCstcan   tunne. 

Ath. 
Tcbikiiii.     Ath. 
Tcbisbi.     All/. 
Tcbokoyeni.     J/o. 
Teacualitzistis.     J'im. 
Teata.     /Vw. 
Teijaca.     .\'(///. 
Teeo.     .Vah. 
Teeojiiie.     Zo. 
Tceoripa.     /*/;//. 
Tecualiue.      /'////.  / 
'rigniiiatio.    /■'.  .Stu. 
Tegiiiiiia.      /'/;;/. 
Tebaiiia.      ( 'op. 


476  The  North-Americans  of  Yesterday 


f' 


M 


'*    :  », 


m  !i 


if  f 


Tebaiiin-kutchiu.  WM. 
Tebua.     Tan. 
Tehuan.     T(in. 
Tehueco.     J'hn. 
Tejano.     Co/i. 
Tektikilhatis.      ToL 
Telumui.     J/ar. 
Teiiaino.     Shup. 
Tenan-kfitchin.     Ath. 
Tetiez.     at. 
Teuime.     Zo. 
Tennutb-Kutchin^y?/'//. 
Teoteuanca.    Uii.,jMex. 
Tepaneco.     Nah. 
Tepebuane.    Pini. 
Tepozcolula,     Zap. 
Tequis.     Piin. 
Tequistlateca.      'i'ma. 
Tervvar,     At/i. 
Tcssuisak.     (,'r.  /isk. 
Tcsiiquc.      Tan. 
Tetero.     E.  .Sin. 
Teton.     Sin. 
Teuteca.     OV. 
Tew  a.     Tan. 
Tewan.     Tan. 
Texaiio.     Co/i. 
Texas.     Cad.  / 
Texone.     Co/i. 
Teyas.     Cat/.  / 
Tezcucan.     Na/i. 
Tezcuco.    Nah. 
Tblinket.     A'ols. 
T'bo.     Jfy. 
Tientien.     Cop. 
Tigua.      I  y^„^ 
1  iguex.   > 
Tillamook.     Sal/i. 
Tiinoga.     Tim. 
Tiinucua.     71iii. 
Tiimiquana.      Ti)n. 
TlMUQl'ANAX.       Tim. 
Tiiiliuneb.     Jfar. 
Tinne.        \ 
Tinneb.      I  A//i. 
Tiuney.      J 
Tionontate.     /r. 


Tipatoldpa.     Sho. 
Tisecbu.     Mar. 
Tisbuni.     Pnj. 
Titowa.     Sin. 
Tiutei.     /i.  Sin. 
Tlacopdn.     A«//. 
Tlabuico.     Na/i. 
Tiamatl.     Litt. 
Tlaoquatcb.      ]l'ak. 
Tlapanec.     Zafy. 
Tlapaneco.     Zo. 
Tlascalan.     Na/i. 
Tlascaltecan.     Xa/i. 
Tlatluicau.     Xa/i. 
Tlatscanai.     Ath. 
Tlingit.    1^^.^^ 
Tliukit.    / 
Toauilcba.     Puj. 
Tobikbar.     S/io. 
Tocaste.     Tim. 
Tockwbogb.     Alq. 
Todericb rootle.  E.  Sin. 
Tofletabi.     Cop. 
Tokar,     Siio. 
Tokoaat.      ]Vak. 
Tolemato      Tim. 
Tolewa.    ^  ^^,^ 
Tolowa.     t 
Toi.TEC.     Xa/t.  f 
Tongass.     A'o/s. 
Touikn.      Tk>i. 
ToxiKAN.     Tkn. 
Tonkawa.     Tow. 

TONKAWAN,       T0Zt>. 

Tonto.      Yma. 
Topaidisel.     Cop. 
Topoqui.      Tim. 
Toquabt.      ll'ak. 
Tosikoyo.     Pnj. 
Totero.     /:.  Sin. 
Tolo.     Pnj. 
TOTONACAX.      7ot. 
Totoiiaco.      Tof. 
Towiacbies.     Cad. 
Towakarebu.     Cad, 
Triqui.     Zap. 
Tsamak.     J'nj. 


Tsawadinob.      ]{'ak. 
Ts'einsidn.     Ctiui. 
fsbiukitani.     A'cA. 
Tsbokoyeni.     Mo. 
Tsimsbian.     Chyn. 
Tsinuk.     Cliik. 
Tubare.     Nah. 
Tucano.     Phi. 
Tucururu.      Tim. 
Tukkutb-kutcbiii.  ,////. 
Tukuarika.     Slio. 
Tulare.     Mo. 
Tumidok.     ^[o. 
Tuniun.     I\fo. 
Tunglas.     Mns. 
Tumininniut,      ^f. 

Esk. 
Tiuiunirusinniul.     M. 

Esk. 
Tuuxi.     Atq. 
Tuolomiie.      Mi  . 
Tusaj-aii .     P/)l. 
Tuscarora.     Ir. 
Tutabac  j.     PH. 
Tutcboue-kutcbiii . 

Ath. 
Tutelo.     /:.  Sin. 
Tututeua.     .h'h. 
Tutu  tunug.     .li/i. 
Twaka.     TYr'. 
Twaua.     Salh. 
Twicbtwicbt.     ./A/. 
Twigbtwee.     A/q. 
Two  Kettle.     Sin. 
Tyigb.     Shap. 
Tzendal.  I  y,„^ 
Tzental.   i 
Tzotzil.     My. 
Tzutubil.     My. 

Ucalta.      U'ak. 
Ucbe.     Cch. 

UCHKAN.      Cih. 
Ucbita.      Vma. 
Ucila.     Tin  . 
Ugalak  m  i  ut .    .     k.  Esk, 
I'gaqpa.     Sin. 


I  J 


ii  1 


Appendix 


477 


•////. 


J/. 


Esk. 


I'gjulirmiut.     3f,  Esk. 
Uinkaievj.     Sfio. 
Ukiah.     Ktiln. 
Ukivokgmiut.      Alk. 

Esk. 
Ukuinuoiii.     At/i. 
Ukusiksalingmiut.     3f. 

Esk. 
Ukwulta.     iVak. 
Ulva.     Ulv. 
I'LVAN.      Uh'. 
I'liiaha.     .Silt. 
Umauak.     Gf    Esk. 
Umatilla.     Shup. 
Umerik.     Cr.  r-.sk. 
Unikwa.     Ai/i. 
Uinpqua.     At/i. 
Unakbotana.     ^U/i. 
Unalachtigo.     Alq. 
Unalashka.|^^^^_^.^^ 
I  nalaska.     > 
Uiialiginiut.    Alk.  Esk. 
Una  mi.     A/(/. 
T'iicapapa.     Si:/. 
Uiiecblgo.     A/(/. 
UiiKavamiut.  La/>.  Esk- 
Unquachoj^.     ./A/. 
Ununjf'un.     ^l/it    /isk. 
Urriparaciixi.      Tim. 
Usheree.     E.  Silt. 
Usliiti.      }'»i(i. 
Uspaiiteca.     J/y. 
Ustoma.     PitJ. 
Uta.      . 
Utah.    V   S/io. 
Ute.      J 
Utcbium.     J/o. 
Utiiia.      Tim. 
I'tlateca.     J/v. 
I'ttewa.     Ski/. 
T'xmal.     J/j'. 

Vacissa.     Tiin. 
Valiente.     U/i. 
Varojfio,     iVa/i. 
Vehetlateca.     J/j'. 
Veuaainbakaiia.    A'lil/i' 


Venado.  Co/i. 
Viard.  IVis/i. 
Vuuta-kutcbin^      A//i. 

Waccamaw.     E.  Siu. 
Waco.     Cad. 
Wagluxe.     Silt. 
Wabaikaii.     C/iik. 
Wabkiacum.     C/iik. 
Wabpeton.     Si  it. 
Waicurru.     Vma. 
Waiilatpu.      IVlp. 
Waiit^aTpuan.      IV Ip. 
Waikemmik.     Cop. 
Waikosel.     Cop. 
Waikur.      Vma. 
Wailaki(i).     Cop. 
Wailakki  (2).     .////. 
Wailaksel.     Cop. 
Wailatpn.      Ulp. 
Wairika.     Sas. 
Wakasb.      U'ak. 
Wakashan.      U'ak. 
Walakumni.     Mo. 
Walapai.      Vma. 
Walla  Walla.     S/iap. 
Walli.     3fo. 
Walpi.     Ho. 
Wainpaiioag.     Alq. 
Wangum.     ^llq. 
Waiigunk.     ^llq. 
Wapanachki.     Alq. 
Wapanoc,     ^rllq. 
Wajwo.     Cso. 
W^appinger.     Alq. 
Wappo.     C/iik. 
Wapucliuseamma. 

k'rrs. 
Wapumni.     Pitj. 
^A'arrcn   nuncock.       E. 

Silt. 
Wc'sco.     Cf'tk. 
Wasur'ki.     Slio. 
Wasbita.     Cad. 
Wasbo.     Wash. 
Washoan.     Wash. 
Waskiteiig.     E.  Silt. 


Wateree.     E.  .Sin. 
Watlala.     C/iik. 
Waxbaw.     E.  Sin. 
Wazaza.     Slit. 
Wea.     Alq. 
Weapemeoc.     ^llq. 
Weeiiee.     E.  .Sin. 
Weeyot.      JVisli. 
Weitspek.      //?/. 
Wkitspekan.     Wei. 
Wendat.     /r. 
Wepavvaug.     Alq. 
Westo.     Cso. 
Wbilkut.     .N/i. 
Wboiikenteae.    E.  Sill. 
Wicbikik.     Jfar. 
Wicbita.     Cad. 
Wibinasbt.     Slio. 
Wikcbumui.     J/ar. 
Wikenak.      Wak. 
Wiksacbi.     J/ar. 
Wilaksel.     Cop. 
Willamat.      1^  /^.^^_ 
Willamette,  i 
Wiiiia.     PitJ. 
Winibee.     Cso. 
Winangik.     Slid. 
Winatsba.     Sal/i. 
Winnebago.     .Si/i. 
Wintoon.     G'/>. 
Wintu.     Co'  . 
WintuM.     Cop. 
Winyaw.     E.  Siit. 
Wisack.     E.  Si/t. 
Wisbosk.      Wisl/. 

WiSHOSKAN.        irisll. 

Witchita.     Cad. 
Wiwasb.     .llq. 
Wiyot.      Wis/i. 
Woccon.    E.  Silt. 
Wolokki.     /'/(/. 
Woolwa.     C7z' 
Wyandot.     Ir. 
Wylackker.     Cop. 

XlCAQUE.      f'n. 
Xicayau.     Zap. 


478  The  North-Americans  of  Yesterday 


Xitne.     Nah. 
Ximena.     Pbl.,  Pint.? 
XiNCA.     Un. 
Xicalanca.    Un.,  My.  ? 
Xuala.     E.  Siii. 


Yaketahnoklatakinaka- 

uay.     Kit. 
Yakon.      Yku. 
Yakonan.     Ykn. 
Yakutat.     Kols. 
Yakwina.     Ykn. 
Yamacraw.    I\Ius. 
Yamasi.     Mus. 
Yaniil.     Kal. 
Yanikally.     Kal. 
Yanan.     Yc.v, 
Yanktou.     6V  , 
Yanktouuais.     ^ 
Yaqui.     Pini. 
Yatasses.     Cad. 


Yavipais.      Yma. 
Yellow-kuives.     Ath. 
Yecpin.     Alq. 
Yesaiig.     E.  Sill. 
Yodetdbi.     Cop. 
Yokdya  Ponio.     Kitln. 
Yokultat.      IVak. 
Yokut.     jMar. 
Yonkalla.     Kal. 
Yope.     Zo. 
Yoseniite.      Mo.      See 

Awani. 
Y6to\vi.     Puj. 
Youkone.     Ykn. 
Yuba.     PiiJ. 
Yucatec.     My. 
Yucbi.     Uch. 
Yuclulabt.     IVak. 
Yiiit.    Asiatic  Esk. 
Yuhai.     Kiiln. 
Yuke. 
Yuki 


ke.| 
ki.    J 


Yak. 


YUKIAN.       Yuk. 

Yfikol,     Mar. 
Yukulta.      Wak. 
Yuloni.     iMo. 
Yuma.     Yma. 
YuMAN.     Yma. 
Yupaha.     Tim. 
Yuqueyuuque.     Pbl. 
Yurok.     Wei. 
Yusal  Porao.    Kiiln. 
Yuta.    Sho. 


Zapotec.     Zap. 
Zapotecan.    Zap. 
Zianima.     Kcrs. 
Zoque.     Zo. 
Zoqukan.     Zo. 
Zoque-Mixe.    Zo. 
Zuaque.     Pint, 
Zuiii.     Zun. 
ZUNIAN.     Zun, 


s  J 


ll 


)  1; 


*H 


U.S.Nat.  Mil 


WOODEN   SEAL-DISH,  HAIDA,   NORTH-WEST 
COAST 


1. . 


INDEX 


See  also  list  of  illustrations,  paj^e  xv. 


Abandoned  works,  meaning  of,  34S 

Aboriginal  dress,  126,  133 

Adobe,  220;  brick,  234;  house,  195 

Adoption,  366,  416 

Adoratorio,  186 

Alaska,  peopled  from  vS.  and  S.-E., 

457 
Albornoz,  136 
Aleut  bouses,  216 
Aleutian    islands,   when    inhabited, 

457 

Aleuts,  range  of,  217 

Algonquin,  dress,  142;  records,  5S 

Alloy  of  gold  and  copj     •   301 

Alosaka,  the,  179 

Alphabet,  Bureau  of  Kthnology,  36; 
Cherokee,  52  ;  Sauk,  53 

Amazon  ni3-th,  403 

America,  when  peopled,  456 

Amerind,  a  village  dweller,  247;  de- 
finition of,  2  ;  literature,  30 

Amerindian  race  composed  of  differ- 
ent elements,  457 

Amerinds  a  stone-age  people,  24S 

Amnesty,  370 

Anmsemeiits,  30S 

Ancient  fabrics,  loS 

Antiquity  of  man  in  America,  evid- 
ences of,  434 

Antiquity  of  Mayas,  242 

Apaches  and  Navajo^  remaining  be- 
hind, 440 

Appendix,  461 

Aqueduct,  339 

Arch,  217,  242 

Ardnainiq,  tribe  called,  407 

Armour,  156,  255,  257 

Arrow-  and  spear-heads,  263 

Assembly  place,  412 

Astrology,  reliance  of  Aztecs  on,  373 

Astronomical,  knowledge,  183;  reck- 
onings, 303  ;  station  at  Zuiii,  306  ; 
stone,  1S2 

Atlantis,  15 


Atolli,  360 

Authentic  history,  beginning  of,  443 

Awatuwi,  ruins  of,  179 

Awl  game,  320 

Aztec,  books,  73  ;  cannibal  banquet, 
371  ;  confederacy,  421,  423,  424  ; 
descent,  how  reckoned,  423; 
sculptures,  1S4  ;  states,  govern- 
ment of,  423  ;  stone  tools,  433  ; 
towns,  238 ;  writing,  68,  69  ;  year, 
306 


B 


Bag,  sacred,  204 

Baggattaway,  327 

Baidar,  2S3 

Baidarka,  283 

Balance  not  known,  305 

Ball  games,  327 

Baqati  wheel,  317 

Barabara,  217 

Bark  for  rope-making,  126 

Basket-drum,  92,  311 

Basketry  hats,  147,  148,  415 

Basque,  resemblance  of  language  to 

Amerind,  32 
Bathing,  386 
Battle,  costume,  357  ;  for  a  wife,  385; 

of  Wounded   Knee,    how   Ijegun, 

415 
Bavela  cloth,  how  used  bv  Navajos, 

131 

Beads,  wampum,  56 

Beadwork,  153 

Bear-mother  carving,  164 

Beckwourth,  head  chief  of  the 
Crows,  416 

Bells,  292,  301,  302 

Belts,  143 

Bird  box,  364  ;  spear,  Eskimo,  26S 

Bird-stones,  175 

Bison,  disappearance  of,  333  ;  possi- 
bility of  domestication,  276 

Black  dye,  304 


479 


Id's- 


H 


I.  1% 


ii 


,  1 

I  i 


0i.  ■• 


-I*!:;.       I 


480 


Index 


Blanket  and  basket  designs  sym- 
bolic, 5S 

Blanket-loom,  124,  13;,  132 

Blanket-making,  i;^S,   133 

Blanket-pole,  162 

Bine  dye,  304 

Boats,  281  ;  Omaha,  2S4 

Hoilinji-basket,  89 

Bolas,  268 

Bologna  codex,  72 

Books,  of  Cbilan  Balam,  82  ;  of  the 
Mayas,  77,  82 

Borgian  codex,  69 

Boundary  lines,  410,  411 

Bow  and  arrow,  249,  254,  256 

Bow-drill,  254 

Boxing,  326 

Bronze  tools,  299 

Buffalo  wool  blankets,  159 

Building  methods,  change  of,  200, 
350 

Bunob-word,  32 

Burial,  38S 

Burning  pottery,  100 


Cactus-fruit  wine,  360 

Cabokia  mound,  342 

Cajon,  220,  236 

Cakcbiquel  year,  307 

Calaveras  skull,  434 

Calculiform  writing,  73,  1S6 

Calendar,  stick,  305  ;  stone,  181,  305 

California  bouses,  215 

Calumet,  364 

Cannibal  banquet,  371 

Canuibabsm,  368 

Canoe,  dugout,  2S2  ;  Haida,  164,  2S2 

Captain  David,  140 

Captives,  treatment  of,  366 

Card-pbiying,  320,  326 

Carved  panthers,  180 

Carving,  162,  167,  169 

Casa  Grande,  200,  233,  234 

Casas  Grandes,  234 

Casting  metals,  301 

Cause  of  North-American  race  homo- 
geneity, 441 

Cavate  lodge,  220,  228 ;  plan  and 
sections,  227 

Cedar  mats,  147 

Cement,  303,  305 

Cenote,  370 

Central-American  arts,  why  supe- 
rior, 439 

Centre  ot  culture,  431 

Ceremonials,  320,  376,  3S1 


C^rros  trinch^ras,  344 

Cbac-Mool,  statue,  190 

Chaco  ruins,  230,  232 

Chalchivitl,  136 

Change  in   building  methods,  2CX3, 

350 
Cherokee,  alphabet,  52  ;    syllabary, 

52  ;  writing,  36 
Chiefs,  416,  424;  civil,  418;  grades 

of,  424  ;  war,  418 
Chief's  office  hereditary  in  the  gens, 

424 
Chilkat  blanket,  452 
Chimney,  Puebloan,  226 
Chinook  jargon,  28 
Chirimia,  311 

Chiriqui,  pottery,  104  ;  stools,  192 
Chocolatl,  360 

Cholula,  Great  Mound  of,  350 
Chultune,  288 
Cigarette  used,  363 
Circ  perdue  process,  301 
City  of  Refuge,  456 
Civil   and   military  branches    often 

separate,  418 
Civilised  tribes,  358 
Chin,  414;  crest,  166,  220  ;  privileges 

and  obligations  of,  419 
Classification  b}-  stone  implements 

impossible,  433 
Cleanliness,  386 
ClifT-dwellers',  176,  229 
Codex,  Bologna,  72  ;  Borgia,  69  ;  Cor- 

tesianus,  82;   Dresden,  82;   IMen- 

doza,  72  ;  Peresianus,  76,  82  ;  Tell- 

eriaiio-Remensis,  72  ;  Troano,  82  ; 

Vaticanus,  72 
Coil-process  pottery,  99,  104 
Comalli,  360 
Commerce,  375 
Communal,   buildings,  247;    living, 

200,  247 
Complementary  daj-s,  306 
Confederacy,    Aztec,  421,    423,    424; 

Iroquois,  421,  425,  449 
Conical  cap,  148  ;  hat,  147 
Continent  peopled  before  glacial  ])e- 

riod,  432 
Controversy,  383 
Cooking-basket,  89 
Copan,  242,  351 

Copper,  bells,  292;  bowlder,  2S8;  hard- 
ening, 299;  implements,  291 ;  mines, 

dnte  of  working,  290;  plates,  291  ; 

working,  249,  288,  291,  301 
Coppers.  162,  293 

Corbel,  arch,  242  ;  vault,  235,  237,  242 
Cord,  126 


\\ 


Index 


481 


Cord-marked  pottery,  106 
CoroBado,  error  in  tracing  of  route 

of.  453 

Cortesianus  codex,  82 

Costume,  133  to  144,  367 

Cotton,  128,  338 

Cotton-padded  armour,  259 

Cotton  weaving,  137 

Council,  420;  general,  420;  of  wom- 
en, 420 ;  tribal,  420 

Councillors,  416,  420 

Counterfeiting,  49 

"Counts  back"  of  the  Dakotas,  60, 

^377 

Coiireurs  du  Hois,  451 

Covenant  chain  of  the  Iroquois,  352 

Crest,  166 

<^rops,  333 

Cross,  the,  254  ;  in  America,  63 

Crotalus,  380 

Cruciform  tomb,  3,  384  ;  ground  plan, 
3«5 

Cueitl,  138 

Culture  not  evidence  of  relationship, 

430 
Cup-markings,  65 
Cupped-stones,  65,  272 
Curtains  for  doors,  205 


D 


Daganowdda,  421 

Daily  life  not  bloody,  353 

Dakota  winter  counts.  60 

Dance,  around  a  cedar  tree,  315 ; 
Ghost,  316;  Rain,  364;  Resurrec- 
tion, 316  ;  Snake,  376  ;  Somaikoli, 
3i«,   3«',  454 

Dancnig,  376,  37S,  381 

Dead,  disposal  of,  388 

Death-house,  Natchez,  20S 

Death-masks  in  Amerindian  pottery, 
106,  171 

Declaration  of  war,  366 

Decoration  of  potlerv,  99 

Defensive,  village,  346  ;  walls,  345 

Deformity  rare,  366 

Degeneration  of  Vucatecs,  439 

Descent,  basis  of,  419 

Destruction  of  Amerinds  by  Gov. 
Kieft,  444 

Details  of  Puebloan  house  architect- 
ure, 211 

Dibble,  270 

Dighton  Rock,  45 

Diseases  introduced  by  whites,  229 

Distinction  between  gens  and  clan, 
419 

31 


Distribution  of,  arts,  439  ;  food,  354 
Dog,   harness,  Eskimo,  278;  whip, 

279 
Dogs,  276 
Dolls,  328 
Doors,  205 
Doorways,  22S 

Double-headed  snake,  168,  393 
Dramatic  sense,  331 
Dresden  codex,  82 
Dress,  143 
Drill,  251,  252 
Drums,  308 
Dry-painting,  61,  387 
Dugout  canoe,  282 
Dwarfs,  races  of,  405 
Dwellings,  195 
Dyes,  303,  304 


Early  advancement,  432 
Earthenware  burial  casket,  105 
Earth,  ij^lu,  219  ;  lodge,  202 
Earthworks,    Cahokia  mound,  342  ; 
connected  with   agriculture,   338 ; 
Etowah  group,  337,  346;  founda- 
tions for   houses,  33S  ;  method  of 
construction,  342  ;  Newark  group, 
346 

East  Mesa,  378 

Effigy  jars,  119 

PHdorado  myth,  403 

Election  of  Aztec  chief,  424 

Election  of  chiefs,  418 

p;iepliant  mound,  334  ;  pipe,  172 

Elephant's  trunks,  190 

Elopement,  383 

E^mblem  of  peace,  364 

Embroidery,  153 

Enchanted  mesa,  40S 

Eskimo,    boots,     15S  ; 

clothing,    156,   158;  ^. 

term,  32  ;  dog  harness,  2,78  ;  drum, 
313;  fuel,  275;  house,  217,  219, 
221  ;  lamp,  169,  274  ;  language,  36; 
light  from  lamp,  276  ;  not  in  Alas- 
ka 500  years  back,  428  ;  southern 
range  of,  273  ;  wick  for  lamp,  276 

Estufa,  not  a  sweat-house,  375 

Etchings,    rock  -  scratchiugs    incor- 
rectly called,  180 

Eternal  fires,  252 

Etowah  mound,  337,  346 


cloak.    159  ; 
derivation   of 


F 

Fabric-marked  potterv.  109 
Face  decoration,  366 


48: 


Index 


'% 


I'ann  products,  247,  33S 

rcalhcT,  jrariiiLMits,   '134,     137,    138; 

mail,  134;  mantles,  13S 
I'cather-work,   inctliotr  of  makins^f, 

rVatlu-red,  horned  serpent,  63 
I'etich,  of  what  consistinjf,  420 
rire-drill,  250,  252  ;  by  friction,  36.S, 

370  ;  eternal,   252 
I'liinji  pottery,  100 
I'ive  Nations'! or  Tribes),  ^12,  425 
I'lat^eolet,  308 
riax,  130 
I'lint  Rid,t;e,  264 
I'"l()od  stories,  407,  40S 
I'^loods,  439 
r'lule,  30S 

I'ondness  for  sinj^iiii^r^  318 
I'ootball,  Kskinio,  326 
I''ool-raccs,  323 
I'orbiddeu  foo(l,  373 
I'orei,t;n  influence,  no,  247 
I'ort  Ancient,  344 
rorlifications,  344 
I'Vaudulent  implements,  49 
Funeral,  jars,  112  ;  urns,  190 
Fur  com[)anies,  methods  of,  363 


rmllantry,  3S7 

(iiiUatin's  work,  20-26 

(iainbliny,  323 

(.iames,  320 

Garments,  primitive,  126 

(iMrters,  133 

C'rauntlel,  running  the,  366 

(ienesis,  myth  of  the  INIokis,  403 

Crens,  414;  1)asis  of,  419;  definition 
of,  414  ;  privileges  of,  and  obliga- 
tions, 419 

Gentes,  414 

Gentile  system,  414 

Georgia  costume,  141 

Gesture  language,  26 

Ghost  dance,  316,  399 

Ghost-shirt,  156,  262 

Gilded  man,  the  myth  of,  403 

Glacial  ])eriod,  cause  of,  435 

Glaciation,  duration  of,  435  ;  extent 

of,  in  North  America,  435 
:ine,  303,  305 

God-houses  of  the  Iluichols,  409 

Gold,  alloy,  301  ;  p'.ating,  302 

Government,  414 

Governor's  palace,  rxnial,  24J 


Clrass  seeds  for  food,  35S 

Grave  monuments,  166 

Graves,  388;  .«tone  box,  3SS 

Grease  feast,  162 

Great  Heads,  407 

Great  :\Iound  of  Cholnl.i,  350 

Great  Sj)irit,  no  knowledge  of  a  sin- 

Gukumatz,  397 


II 


Ilaida  canoes,  164 

Hair  dressing,  150 

Hall  of  Colunms,  209,  24*1 

Hano,  estal)lishment  of  village  of,  22 

Hard  ])ottery,  iO!j 

Hardened  copper,  299,  31x2 

Har»)oon,  267 

Hawk  bells,  292,  309 

Head  at  Izamal,  191 

Head  chief,  416 

Head  roll  for  carrving,  153 

Health,  356 

Heat,  debilitating  to  Ameriiuls,  439 

Helmet,  260 

Hereditary  offices,  423-424 

Hero-gods,  371,  396,  399,  401 

Hiawatha,  393;   in   I^ongfellow  and 

vSchoolcrafl  ranked  as  an   Algon- 

(juin,  395 
Hieratic  languages,  29 
Hill  forts,  344 

Hinu" ,  God  of  Thunder,  364 
Historv,    linked    with    other   races, 

447  ' 
Ilodeuosaunce,  212 
Hodenosote,  200,  210 
Hollow  square  earthworks,  208 
Homogeneity,  35S 
Hoj)ewell  cache,  264 
Horse  racing,  323,  329 
Hospitality,  a  law,  354,  447 
House,  column,    162;   of  the   dead, 

20S ;  ])ost,  162 
Household  utensils,  273 
Houses  on  piles,  240 
Hudson    Bay   Co.,   peaceful   success 

of,  453 
Huepilli,  140 

Human  flesh  eaten,  367,  368 
Hunt-the-button  game,  324 
Hut  of  the  Great  Sun,  208 


Ideographic  records,  48,  59 
Iglu,  21  7 


Index 


4'\> 


IshiKcak,  217 

Ikoiioj^raphic  writing,  69 

Ikonoiiiatif,  4.S,  69 

Iiiiiigiiiary  animals,  174 

Indian,  corn,35.S  ;  names,  395  ;  stocks 

or  families,  list  of,  461  ;  tribes,  list 

of,  465 
Indio  Triste,  184 
Intercalation   of  (lavs,   306  ;  denied, 

306 
Interkillinjf,  3Sr 
Internecine  wars,  229,  427 
Irish  and  Danes  in  Ancient  Amer- 
ica, 429 
IrriK'atin-,',  333;  canals,  195.333,  336 
Iroquois,  confederacy,  421,  425,  449  ; 

costume,  T4(j  ;  house,  19.S,  200,  210 ; 

unsurpassed,  375 
Israelite     and     Amerindian     myths 

compared,  403 
Itz.imna,  401 
Ixtlilxochitl,  443 
Izamal,  head  at,  191 


Jacal    construction,  220,  236 
Jarj,'on,  Chinook,  28 
Joint  tenements,  240 
Jossakeed,  373 

K 

Kabinajiek  orchestra,  325 
Kalopalin^,  407 
Karankawa,  34 
Kashim,  216 
Katcina,  47,  37S 
Kayak,  281,  283 
Kishoni,  196 
Kisi  construction,  196 
Kiva,  231,  232,  325,  350,  375,  412,414 
Knives,  269 

Kwakiutl,  house  front,  2^9  ;  statues. 
167 

Kwokwuli,  405 


Labna,  palace  of,  450 

Labret,  355 

Lacandon  idol,  190 

Lack   of  carving  in  the  South-west,    1 

1 8  r  I 

Ivacrosse,  327  | 

Ladders,  197,  226 
Lamp,    169,    274  ;  of  Vancouver   Is-   ' 

land,  275  ;  wick,  276 
Landa's  alphabet,  50  ;  lej^acv,  78 


Language,  classification,   17;    roots 

Languages,  number  of,  20  ;  jjolvsvii- 

thetic,  T^2 
Laolaxa  costume,  406 
Law  of  hospitality,  354,  447 
League  of  the  Iroquois.  421,  42s.  449 
Legends,  393,  403,  405 
Leggmys,  134,  143.  144.  i4,s,  150 
Lena])L'  houses,  2(j6 
Length  of  year  calculated,  305 
Limits  of  ancient  inhabitants,  4^,7 
Linguistic  map,  33 
Long-house,  200,  210,  414 
Loom,  124,  131,  132 
Lost-Tribes-of-Israel  theory,   53,   63, 

401,403,429 
Louisiana  costume,  140 


)f  Iroquois   orgauisa- 


Main   points 

lion,  425 
Maize,  358 
Makah  house,  213 
M  ilignant  sprites,  405 
Man  always  the  same,  315 
Manatee  pipe,  173 
;\Iandan  costume,  144 
Milliner  of  dving,  356 
-Mantle  of  fur,  137" 
Map,  Centrnl-Aiiierican    ruins,  436; 
linguistic,  33  ;  Mexican  ruins,  438 
IVIasks,  165 
Mats,  147 
Maxtlall,  136 

Maya,  alphabet,  50  ;  books.   77,  S2  ; 
buildings,     ground     plans,      238  ; 
chronicles,  408;  chronology,  242, 
307  ;  greatness,  242  ;  house,    246  ; 
numeral    system,    83;    numerals, 
86  ;  paper,  77  ;  parchment,  77  ;  war 
and    rain    gods,    190;    week,   306; 
writing,    origin  of,   78  ;    year,'  306 
stealing  stones,  194 
Medicinal  remedies,  373 
Medicine-men,  371,  372 
Mendoza  codex,  72 
Mesa  Kncantada,  408 
Messiah,  the,  399 
IVIetates,  181,  191,  194,  272 
Method  of    attaching    arrow-heads, 

265 
Methods  of  the  fur  companies,  363 
Metlatl,  272 

Mexican,  bronze  tools,  299  ;  cos- 
tume, 134,  136,  138  ;  hardened 
copper,  299  ;  houses,  238  ;  know- 
ledge of  metals,  299  ;  mining,  299 


484 


Index 


^1 


ill 

r 


II 

1 « 

If 

Nf 

!  ■ 

Ijl 

■  I 

>4\ 
fill 

Mezi  al,  360 

Miohabo,  396,  399,  401 

Mide,  society,  401  ;    songs,  58 

MiKraliou  theory,  428 

Milk  not  used,  360 

Mining,  285  ;  by  fire  method,  285 

Misconceptions  of  tlie  .Spaniards,  421 

Mississippi  valley,  houses,  205  ;  pot- 
tery, 106 

Mitla,  209,  246  ;  roof  construction, 
230 

Mnemonic  records,  48,  59 

Moccasin,  134,  142,  145,  150,  159,  369 

Modoc  houses,  215 

Moki,  hair  dressing,  150,  J51  ;  house 
phm,  220;  loom,  130;  method  of 
watering  crops,  335  ;  putchkohn, 
26S,  270;  reservation,  447;  sacre<l 
blanket,  130;  throwing-stick,  268, 
270;  women's  costume,  150 

Monitor  pii)e,  171 

Monolithic  monuments,  186 

Montezuma,    legend   of,    408  ;   rank 

of,  423 
Moons  computed  to  the  year,  305 
Morgan's  classification,   14 
Mormon  protective  garment,  262 
Mortar,  246,  272 
Most  widely  spread  stocks,  443 
]M()und  foundations,  242 
IMoundbuilder  pi])es,  172,  174 
Moundbuilders,  lack  of  skill,  174 
Mounds,     195,    206,    207,    342,    350; 

builders  ot,  343 
Mnrder,  settlement  of,  381 
Musical,  bow,  308, 451  ;  instruments, 

308 
Mustache,  154 
Myths,   393,    403  ;  resemblances    to 

those  of  Israelites,  403 


N 


Nahuatls,  443.  St'C  Mexican  and 
Aztec 

Names,  derivation  of,  386  ;  indicat- 
ing totem,  420 

Natchez  temple,  207 

Navajo,  costume,  150 ;  dramatic 
sense,  331  ;  dry-painting,  61  ; 
house,  199;  loom  construction, 
131,  132  ;  reservation,  445  ;  silver- 
smiths, 294  ;  silver-work,  296  ; 
songs  the  most  primitive,  313 ; 
summer  and  winter  homes,  412  ; 
women's  costume,  150 

Navajos  remained  behind,  440 

Nenenot  tent,  219 


Nets,  269 

New-fire,  252,  368,  370 ;  Moki,  370 
Newark  group  of  earthworks,  346 
Nicaragua  costume,  140 
Night  attacks,  366 
North  growing  warmer,  443 
North-west    coast,    "coppers,"  293; 
houses,  212,  241  ;  totem  poles,  241 
North-western  tribes,  costume,  J 44 
Notched  doorway,  213,  228 
Numerals  of  the  Mayas,  83,  86 

O 

Object  of  Aztec  war,  36S 

Observatories,  1H3 

Obsidian,  mines,  264;  tools,  299 

Octli,  360 

Oglala  roster,  387 

Okeepa  ceremony,  362,  378 

Oldest  people  of  Valley  of  Mexico, 

443 

Olmecas,  443 

Omaha  boat,  284 

Only  one  kind  of  music,  314 

Ontonagon  bowlder,  the,  289 

Opinion,  effect  of, on  civil  chief,  416 

Oraibi  at  night,  325 

Organisation  and  government,  410, 
414 

Organisation  of  Iroquois  conteder- 
acy,  425 

Origin,  migrations,  and  history,  428 

Origin  of  INIaya  writing,  78 

Ornatnentation  of  Yucatec  architect- 
ure, 191 

Outlaws,  453,  455 


Pai  Ute  Messiah,  399 

Pai  Utes,  303 

Painting  faces,  366 

Palace  of  Palenque,  351 

Palenque   buildings,    244,  351,    404, 

Frontispiece  ;    transverse    section 

of,  210 
Palm-drill,  252,  368 
Paper  of  the  Mayas,  77 
Parallelism  of  human  development, 

396 
Patnish  and  his  band,  455 
PatoUi,  322 

Peace  chiefs,  418 ;  envoys,  364 
Penn's  dealings,  358 
Peopling  of  America,  42S 
Peresianus  codex,  76 
Period  of  time  since  recession  of  ice^ 

441 


Index 


4S5 


70 

[6 


293; 
,  241 

J  44 


and 


icico, 


,  416 
410, 
ider- 
,  42S 
tect- 


404, 
:tion 


lent, 


[ic^ 


Pertnaiieut  bouses,  195 
PhotiL'tic   element    iti    Mayan 

Mexican  writing,  71 
I'lionoj^rapliic  ncords  of  sonj,'s,  320 
riiotojjraphs  hn'  medicine,  3S1 
I'll    Ury,  414 

l'ict(j.;raplis,   i)ainled,  42 
rid  lire- writinj^,  39;  classified,  50 
Piki  iMoki  bread),  377 
I'liuii  house,  199 
Pifion  nuts  for  food,  35S 
Pipe,  171  ;  of  peace,  364  ;  stone,  375 
Pise,  220,  236 
Platforms,  2u6 
Piumaje,  134 
Plum-stone  ^ame,  324 
Pochotl,  360 
Poet,  313 

Pokaj^cm,  Simon,  quoted,  449 
Poll-,  sacred,  of  the  Onirdias,  204 
Polyjfamy,  3S6 
Polysvnthetic  lan.tjuaues,  ,;2 
J'opol  /  ■////,  .S2,  397 
Population,  177  ;  before  jrhicial  cold, 

434 

Portable  houses,  195 

Potlatch,  162 

Pottery,  area,  no;  burnished,  100; 
cloisonne,  loi  ;  coil  made,  99  ;  dec- 
oration f)f,  99,  120,  122;  Ivskimo 
knowledj^e  of,  42S  ;  ,t;laze,  loi  ;  in- 
vented, 9S  ;  i)reparation  of  clay  for, 

99 
Priest  doctor,  371 
Primitive,    fiibrics, 

126  ;  loom,   121 
Pronunciation,  34 
Protective,  armour, 

262 

Protrudinj^  tongue,  166 
Pueblo,  207 
Pueldoan,    costume,   133,    151,    153; 

ignorance   of  metals,  292  ;  use  of 

term,  44 
Pulque,  360 
Pump-drill,  251,  254 
Putchkohu,  268,  270 
Pyramid,  not  a  proper  term,  343,  35 1 ; 

of  Cbolula,  350;  of  the  Suu,  350 

Q 

Quarries,  264,  273 
Quetzalcobuatl,  371,  396,  397 

R 

Kabbit-skin  robe,  130 


1 24  ;    garments. 


156  ;    medicine. 


Rain  dance,  364 

Raised  houses,  240 

Rapidity  of  erosion  after  recession  of 

ice,  441 
Rations,  issue  of,  445 
Rattles,  309 
Rattlesnake,  centre  of  distribution, 

190;  <iesigns,    188;    horned,    3S() ; 

species,  189;  venerated,  63 
Recession  of  tlie  sea,  437 
Records  of  Tecpaii,  Atitlati,  Sj 
Red  Cloud's  census,  6<j 
Re<l  dye,  304 
Red  pipe-stone,  375 
Red   score,   authenticity  of,  390  ;  of 

the   Lenapds,  46,  47, '390 
Rehearsal,  a,  317 
Religion,  375 
Religious  leasts,  368 
Remedies,  medicinal,  373 
Remedy  for  smallpox,  375 
Rei)ousse   method  of  working  cop- 
per, 291 
Resemblance  to  Asiatics,  457 
Resemblances  of  Amerinds  and   Old 

World  people,  cause  of,  432 
Reservoirs,  195,  33S 
Resurrection  dance,  316,  399 
Right  of  asylum,  364 
Roasting  tray,  90 
Rock,    carving,    16S; 

16S,  180 
Roof     construction, 

Moki,  226 
Rope-making,  126,  346 
Round  towers,  232 
Ruins  in  Honduras  and  Nicaragua, 

246 
Running  the  gauntlet,  366 


S 


Sachems,  duties  of,  425 

vSacred,  bag,  204;  buffalo-cow  skin, 

204 ;    Moki    blanket,    130 ;    pole, 

204.    i'^i  \    structures,    20S  ;    tent, 

204,  208  ;  tipi,  204 
Sacrifice,  method  of  Aztec,  371  ;  of 

children,  Aztec,  371 
Sacrificial  stone,  182 
Sail  of  umiak,  2S4 
Sauk  alii vbet,  53 
vSealskin,  bottles,  276 ;   floats,  267 
Secret  society,  414 
Section  of  Yucatec  building,  235 
Seminole,  costume,  154  ;  war,  445 
Sequoia,  360 
Sequoyah  (George  (/ist)  syllabary, 52 


peckings, 

Mitla,      230 


42, 


4S6 


In 


cicx 


ft  I   i 


ii  *' 


If 

111 


Seven  cities  myth,  403 

Sliaiiians,  371,   373,  408;    (lefuiitiuu 

of,  372 

Slii'll  carviiif^s,   174 

Sliic'lds,  25S 

.SlioshokofS,  S 

Sif^ii-luiij^uanc  26 

Siyii  of  clan  or  ji;ens  membership, 
420 

Silversmith's  tools,  298 

Silversmiths,  Navajo,  294,  296;  Tlin- 
k.i,  -.'96 

.Similarities  between  Amerind  and 
Hutopean  words,  25,  28 

Siuf^ing,  312,  3iH;  in  the  night,  319 

"  Sin)4ing-girl,"  statue,  188 

SIsul,  16H,  392 

Sitting  Hull,  356,  451 

Six  Nations,  425 

Skin  armour,  260 

Skull-cap,  147 

Slab  houses,  212 

Sledge,  277 

Smiillpox  remedy,  375 

Smelting  ore,  291 

Smoking,  363 

Snake  dance,  376 

vSnow-house,  217;  iglu,  217;  knife, 
217  ;  shoe,  280;  snake,  323 

Soajjstone  quarries,  273,  2S6  ;  ves- 
sels, 273 

Sod  house,  217 

Soft  pottery,  99 

Sokus  Waiunats  and  the  magic  cup, 

4"3 

Somaikoli  ceremony,  318,  3S1,  454 

vSongs  of  the  Ghost  dance,  316 

vSorcercss,  371 

Sound  writing,  69 

Soyaita  ceremony,  see  Somaikoli 

Spades,  270 

Spear-  and  arrow-heads,  263 

Spindle,  126 

Spinning,  128 

vStatue  of  the  Sun,  350 

SteUe,  Copan,  186 

Stock  names,  how  derived,  30 

Stocks,  17 

Stone,  cutting,  300  ;  graves,  388  ;  im- 
plements as  charms,  263  ;  statues 
in  Georgia  and  Tennessee,  176 

vStools  of  Chiriqui,  192 

Story  telling,  330 

String-drill,  252 

Sun  priests  of  the  Moki,  305 

Superstition,  377 

Swastika,  63,  458 

Sweat,  bath,  374  ;  house,  374 


Syllabary,  Cherokee,  52 

.Svmbol  ol  the  peaceful  council  fire, 

■418 
Symbolic  writing,  69 

T 

Tablet  of  the.  Cross,  184;  Sun,  186 

Tablets,  Maya,  1S4 

Taeusa  house,  208 

Tambourine-clrum,  308,  313 

Tacs,  3,  234 

Tattooing,  56 

Tchungkee  game,  328 

Tecumseh,  449 

Tegua  (moccasin),  134 

Telleriano-Remensis  Codex,  72 

Temple,  of  the  Cross,  184,  190,  244; 
of  the  Natchez,  207  ;  of  the  Sun, 
Frontispiece,  186  ;  of  Tepo/tlati, 
242,  391;  of  Xochicalco,  23,  31, 
242 

Temples,  350 

Temporary  house,  195 

Tennis,  328 

Teocalli,  Frontispiece,  391 

Tepehuaje,  311 

Te])oiiaztli,  312 

Tepoztlan,  temple  of,  242,  391 

Terms  for  describing  stone  weapons, 
263 

Terra-cotta,  figures,  112,  113,  "s; 
tubing,  1 16,  117 

Tetzonlli,  350 

Tewa,  village  of,  when  establ.^  ., 
22 

Thought  writing,  69 

Thread,  126,  T38 

Throwing-stick  of  Mokis,  267,  26S 

Thunder-i)ird,  167,  342,  393 

Tilmatli,  136 

Time  calculations,  305 

Tipi,  195,  19S,  200,  204  ;  construction, 
200  ;  decoration,  202  ;  derivation 
of,  200  ;  sacred,  of  the  Omahas, 
204 

Tiste,  360 

Tlaloc,  396 

Tlapau-huehuetl,  311 

Tlaxcala,  not  a  Mexican  Switzer- 
land, 423 

Tlaxcalteco  organisation,  424 

Tlinkit  silversmith,  296 

Tobacco,    28,   363  ;    pipe,    171,  363, 

364 
Toboggan,  279 
Toltecs,  443 
Tongue  in  Amerindian  carving,  166 


TooN,  249 
Topi'k,  219 
Tortillas,  360 
TottJii,   (uhI   totemistn, 
^    162,  386 

ToU-ms,  wluTf  rliosLii, 
Tololospi  j^atne,  322 
Towers,  round,  232 
To/acatl,  311 
Traditions,  393 
Traits,  354 
Translation    of 
Mormons,  63 
Transportation, 


In 


3-%;    poles, 
420 


ac;\ 


4.S7 


picture-writing    by 


..  .      ■  .  276 

friangular  arcii,  242 

Tribal,  chief,  416;  organisation,  414 
Iribes,    change    building    methods., 
^    3^"!  exterminated,  445 
Tr'jano  Codex,  82 
True  arcli,  217 
Tupek,  219 
Turf  house,  217 
Turtleback  flints,  261 

U 

TTniiak,  157,  2.S2,  283  ;  sail,  284 
Unity  of  all  music,  314 
Unseen  ruins,  246 
Utahs,  costume  of  1776,  141 

V 

Value  of  a  "  copper,"  297 
Variation  in  culture,  178 
Vase  from  Labna,  74 
Vatican  Codex,  72 
Veils,  138 

Vicuna  in  Arizona,  1^0,  276 
Village  dweller,  8 

Villages,  location  of,  412;  perman- 
ent,   228 
Virgin  copper,  301 
Votan,  397 
Votive  stones,  188 

W 

Walamink,  or  Place  of  Paint,  304 
Walasaxa  dance,  359 
Wall,  steps  on,  Moki,  222,  224 
Walls,  Moki,  226 


lis 

r<>(|uois. 


Walaiii  Ohnii,  47,  390 

U'iMM)  um,  55,  n,^,"4ts 

Will,  .S,  3^)6,  445;    bel 

4i><;  lionntt,  145,  i.y,,  .00;  chiefs 

otiice  hereditary  in  the  tribe,  424  ; 

chiefs,    41S,    4i4;    costume,     156,' 

357.  442  ;  declaration  of,  418  ;  infrc- 

«|Uent,  366;  object  of,  with  A/.te.s, 

3"S;  Seniniole,  445;  shirt,  26j 

Water-pocket,  405 

Waterproof,  booi^,  159;  garment,  159 
Weaving,  126,  12S,  137.  141,  147 
Weighing,  305 
Whalebone  dish,  96 
Whip,  of  Ivskiinos,  279  ;  top,  -128 
Whisky,  360.361  '^ 

Wliistles,  308,  310 

White,  brutality,  445  ;  bu(Talo-cow 
skin,  sacred,  204  ;  men  as  chiefs. 
416 

Wicker-work,  in  house  construction, 
234,  236  ;  plastered,  236 

Wigwam,  200,  204 

Wikiup,  195 

Wilson,  Jack,  the  I'ai  Ute  Messiah, 
399 

Windows,  228,  242 

Wine,  from  cactus  fruit,  ^60 

Winter  counts,  Dakota,  60,  -177 

Woll-killer,  267 

Wooden,  house,  195  ;  walls  in  ancient 
Puebloan  construction,  236 

Woonupits,  320,  405 

Wrecks  of  Jaj).inese  vessels  on  Pa- 
cific coast,  429 

X 

Xicalancas,  443 

Xochicalco,  temple  of,  23,  31,  242 


Yant,  35S 
Yellow  dye,  304 
Vokuts  houses,  215 
Yourt,  2r6 
Yucatec,  buildings, 
238  ;  stone,  242 


ground  plans. 


Zahcab,  238,  288 
Zootheisui,  375 


o^is  icsJsAiun  put;  sApiutud  y 
VHIJ.SVAVS   HIIJ. 
•njv  -IBM  -S  -a 


'f 


'V    4' 


Breaking  the  Wilderness 

Thesto7yofthe  Conqiicstofthe  Far  West,  from 
the  Wanderings  of  Cabeza  cie  V\ica  to  the  first 
Descent  of  the  Colorado  by  Powell,  and  the  Com- 
pletion of  the  Union  Pacific  Railway.  With 
particular  account  of  the  exploits  of  trappers 
and  traders. 

By  Frederick  S.  Dellexbaugh 

With  about  146  illustrations.  8°^  net  $3.30. 

"Mr.  Dellonhaut^h  has  jierformccl  here  an  excellent  and  valuable 
service  in  collectini,'  a  vast  array  of  heretofore  di  connect  xl  accounts 
of  a  fascinating  r.nd  wonderful  ret^ion  of  land  still  fn.iignl  with  mys- 
teiy  and  ricli  in  glorious  i>ossil)ilities.  It  woul'.  !>;  t'lfli -'il';  t<  con- 
vey a  ^jreater  amount  of  useful  and  interesting  information  in  a 
volume  of  corresponding  size  and  scope." — Pliila.  North  American, 


'  Taken  as  a  whole  the  hook  gives  the  most  comprehensive 
account  of  tlie  history  of  Western  exploration  and  discovery  that  has 
been  given  to  tlu  public." — N.  Y.  Tribune. 


"  \o  other  American  was  so  competent  to  write  this  thrilling 
ptivating  story,  " — Henry  Ilaynie  in  the  Boston  Times. 


and 
capt 

"  A  most  readable  hook.  ...  A  book  that  will  interest  every 
student  of  American  history  and  every  reader  wiiose  blood  is  stirred 
by  deeds  of  hardship  and  daring."— .V.  Y.  Evening  Telegram. 

Scad  tor  illustrated  decriptive  circular 


G.   P.    PUTNAM'S   SONS 
New  York  London 


A  Canyon   Voyage 


The  Nai^rative  of  the  Second  Poivcll  Expedi- 
tion doivn  the  Green-Colorado  River  from 
Wyoming  and  the  Explorations  on  Land  in 
the  Years  i8yi  and  jSy2. 


By  Frederic  S.   Dellenhaugii 

Artist  and  Assistant  Topograjjher  of  the  Exjjedition 

Si'o  with  JO  J^////-/>(ix'e  Illustrations  from  Photognxphs  and 
from  Drawings  by  the  Author  {2  in  color)  and  Maps  in- 
cluding reproductions  of  the  first  maps  made.  Net.,  $j.§o. 
By  mail,  $3.75- 


Mr.  Dellenbaugh's  new  book  is  a  narrative  of  the  United  Status 
Exploring  Expedition,  generally  known  as  the  Second  Powell  Ex|ie- 
dition  down  the  CJreer.  and  Colorado  Rivers  from  Wyoming  almost 
forty  years  ago  ;  an  expedition  which  in  all  these  years  never  has 
been  described  in  any  government  publication,  nor  by  anyone 
in  ])rint  excepting  Mr.  Dellenbaugli,  who  was  a  member  of  tlie 
party.  Vet  it  was  the  expedition  to  make  the  first  maps  uf  the 
course  of  the  river  and  of  some  of  the  contiguous  country.  In  the 
A'owiDUt'  of  the  Colorado,  Mr.  Dellenbaugh  gave  a  brief  description 
of  this  expedition  in  order  to  make  his  history  of  the  remarkable 
river  com]ilete,  but  now  feeling  the  desirability  of  a  fuller  record 
in  the  interest  of  Western  United  States  history,  he  tells,  in  A 
Ciinyoii  Voviii^L-,  the  whole  experience. 

SEND  FOR  ILLUSTRATED  DESCRIPTIVE  CIRCULAR 

G.     P.     PUTNAM'S     SONS 

New  York  .  London 


T 


'1 


The  Romance  of  the 
Colorado   River    • 


A  Complete  Accoimt  of  the  Discovery  and  of  the 
Explorations  from  15^0  to  the  Present  Time 
luith  Particular  Reference  to  the  two  Voyaorsof 
Pozuell  throno-h  the  Line  of  the  Great  Canyons 

By  Frederick  S.  Dellexbau^^h 


^^  7vith  200  Illustrations,  net,  Sj.jo.     By  mail  $3.75 


L;ia]:)liic  and  as  interestiiKT  as  a  novel  or  •   i      , 

tn  the  average  reader  is  the  nu.hip  iJit     ofnicttire's       J  LT'      '""' 
ahH.,.-,t  everv  Dac'e    and  uhil,.  tl,,.  f    \'  -l  '^'  P'^'^'rc',.      1  hey  occur  on 

give.  fr„n,  a  sin^  ^hicc    an  ^^T^  ^^n  ^"  ''T.{  ""^^  ''"'^"•'^^ 

•,s:;,3r;;'- - ..■•-i'™:.;i;;S.r:,;-i:rt;i; 


•3s;sms=3^^s^^ 


giKid 
e.l 


-I  can  he  urit.en  for  n.anv  vears  t     co,„e-u     "urti        t  iT' 
^e  of  the  rtver  is  greatly  enlarged.' _  /V^;^,';!  M^,^,^      ""  ' 


SEND  FOR  ILLUSTRATED  DESCRIPTIVE  CIRCIIAR 

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